Freebirds World Burrito
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| Type | Private (subsidiary of the Tavistock Group) |
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| Industry | Restaurant |
| Founded | Isla Vista, California, U.S. (1987) |
| Founder(s) | Mark Orfalea, Pierre Dube |
| Headquarters | Emeryville, California, U.S. |
| Number of locations | 66 |
| Area served | Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and California |
| Products | burritos |
| Parent | Tavistock Group |
| Website | freebirds.com |
Freebirds World Burrito, Freebirds for short, is a regional chain of fast casual burrito restaurants. Founded in 1987 in Isla Vista, California by Mark Orfalea and Pierre Dube, the restaurant chain expanded into Texas in 1990. After Dube took over the Texas location in 1994, he expanded the chain to span 19 restaurants in Texas, while Orfalea retained ownership of the original California location and a license to continue using the name. The Texas Freebirds World Burrito chain, which was headquartered in College Station,[1][2] was purchased by private-equity Tavistock Group in 2007. The chain, headquartered in the Tavistock Restaurants offices in Emeryville, California,[2][3][4] has grown to over 30 locations in Texas and a single location in Oklahoma, with some Freebirds set to open outside the state in 2011.
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[edit] History
The Freebirds concept was created by Mark Orfalea and Pierre Dube in 1987, when they opened the first Freebirds World Burrito in Isla Vista, California, a block from the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.[5] When the partners decided to open a second location, they looked at the twenty largest college towns in the US, eventually choosing College Station, Texas, home of Texas A&M University. They opened the second Freebirds in 1991 in the Northgate shopping district, a commercial district located across the street from the campus in a central hub of activity for both students and residents with heavy foot traffic. In 1994, Dube bought out his partner, though Orfalea retained the original Isla Vista location and a license to continue operating under the Freebirds name there. Dube then opened a second location in College Station, then a third. He later expanded the restaurant to multiple locations across Texas, including Dallas, Houston, and Austin.[6]
By 2007, the restaurant chain had 19 locations around Texas. On July 25, 2007, Dube sold the chain to California-based Tavistock Group through its Tavistock Restaurants division. At the time of the sale, Tavistock stated that it would be opening an additional 40 Freebirds restaurants across the southwestern United States.[7] In addition to adding more Texas locations, Tavistock expanded the restaurant chain into neighboring state Oklahoma with the opening of a location in Norman, Oklahoma in January 2008.[8][9][10] As of April 2010, the chain has expanded to 31 locations, and stated that it would have 52 open by the end of 2010.[8][11]
[edit] Business model
Freebirds is a privately owned company, with all locations owned by parent company Tavistock Group.[5] The restaurant's primary offering is California-style Mission burritos or San Francisco burritos, which customers order cafeteria-style allowing them to customize their meal by choosing burrito size and type of tortilla, then choosing its filling from a selection of meats, cheeses, beans, vegetables and sauces. Locations also generally offer customizable salads, tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and "burrito bowls" which are burritos without a tortilla. Side item offerings include chips, salsa, queso, and soups.[6][7][10]
Committed to operating in an environmentally conscious manner, the company stocks recycled paper products in its locations, and prints its menus on 100% recycled papers. They also encourage their customers to "recycle" their burritos foil wrappers by turning them into art work, which is then displayed in various Freebirds locations.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ "Contact Us". Freebirds World Burrito. February 7, 2003.. Archived from the original on February 7, 2003. http://web.archive.org/web/20030207044618/www.freebirds.com/contact_us.asp. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Tavistock Restaurants swoops in on Freebirds". Austin Business Journal. Monday July 23, 2007. http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2007/07/23/daily5.html. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ "Welcome to Tavistock Restaurants". Tavistock Restaurants. http://tavistockrestaurants.com/. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ "Contact Us". Freebirds World Burrito. http://www.freebirds.com/slow/contact.htm. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "FAQ". Freebirds World Burrito. http://freebirds.com/freebirds-story/faq/. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
- ^ a b Levey, Kelli (July 21, 2002). "Freebirds World Burrito to expand in Texas". The Bryan-College Station Eagle. http://209.189.226.235/businesstechnology/071802freebirds.htm. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ a b "Freebirds World Burrito Chain Sold". Santa Barbara Independent. July 25, 2007. http://www.independent.com/news/2007/jul/25/freebirds-world-burrito-chain-sold. Retrieved January 6, 2008.
- ^ a b "Store Locations". Freebirds World Burrito. http://www.freebirds.com/slow/locations.htm. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "Timeline". Freebirds World Burrito. http://www.freebirds.com/inserts/timeline.htm. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ a b Parker, Julianna (January 20, 2008). "New restaurant gives Norman the bird". The Norman Transcript. http://www.normantranscript.com/commerce/local_story_018002538?keyword=topstory. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ Ruggless, Ron (April 22, 2010). "Tavistock to buy Fuddruckers, Koo Koo Roo parent from Ch. 11". Nation's Restaurant News. http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=382314#. Retrieved April 27, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "NRA show to feature eco-friendly products". Pizza Marketplace. NetWorld Alliance. April 13, 2007. http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article.php?id=7307. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
