Ann Arbor's Burrito Borimex has closed
After just 5 months at 2285 S. State St, an address that has proven to be a very challenging location for restaurants, Burrito Borimex closed its doors last week. Proprietor Gladys Ponce did not return a call seeking comments, but building owner Sami Abed confirmed the closing.
"She just didn't have enough capital to keep going," explained Abed. "We're in discussions with several people to put a new restaurant in that space, but this time it will be carry-out only. That location just isn't big enough to have a full restaurant in it."
Prior to housing Burrito Borimex, this address was home to several other restaurants in the past few years, including the first location for Pilar's Cafe, now open on W. Liberty St. as Pilar's Tamales.
Jessica Webster oversees Food & Drink coverage on the Community Team for AnnArbor.com. Contact her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com.
Comments
ShadowManager
Tue, Jan 19, 2010 : 3:40 p.m.
I stand by my comments because I was out an $8 lunch for the one time I went there....for lunch, on a Tuesday. I was handed a menu with no other options but the expensive meals listed, got crappy rushed service, was never informed about these 1.50 tacos everyone is raving about. Were they some under the table thing? also, no free chips at my table. That's a death sentence for a mexican place.
seldon
Fri, Dec 18, 2009 : 1:22 p.m.
The menu wasn't well-organized, but the tacos were around $1.50 apiece, tamales were similar, and they frequently had empanadas and other stuff on their specials board in the sub-$3 range. The comment about there being nothing under $5 is as crazy as the comment calling it an unauthentic place like Qdoba. What I don't know is whether to blame the commenters for not checking their facts or the owners for writing the menu in such a way that it may have confused the issue. As for the location, it's awful. The places that have succeeded there -- Pilar's and La Zamaan, both of which were doing good business and closed for other reasons -- had a significant following before they moved in. I don't think any truly new restaurant could succeed there.
Ignatz
Thu, Dec 17, 2009 : 8:01 p.m.
I always thought it was a bad location compunded by a not too enticing looking building. I never did have the desire to go in there.
mrk
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 5:01 p.m.
I'm not gonna lie, I would have no desire to go to any restaurant at that location. I'm not sure why, but the building just seems shady or something. I feel for the owners of each of these businesses that ahve not survived... but it's a bad location. Maybe that's a poor reason, but it is what it is. Attracting business keeps a business alive. Maybe if it was mostly a delivery place? Anthony's Pizza, for example, when they were located behind the old Kroger at Georgetown... I had no idea where they were located for years because we always got delivery.
Jessica Webster
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 3:58 p.m.
ShadowManager - there were many menu choices under $5 (if I recall, tacos were a buck fifty each), and when I ordered take-out it was always ready in ten minutes. I am sorry your experiences didn't mirror mine.
Anne Takacs
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 3:41 p.m.
it was a great place to eat. the food was awesome. i would go to where ever they re opened.
ShadowManager
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 2:50 p.m.
This place was run every unprofessionally (there signage was spraypainted on bare plywood) and way overpriced. I gasped when I got a taco meal to go there...for lunch...and there was no lunch special, it was over $8. Nothing on the menu was under $7 and it was slow to boot.
Eric S
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 12:28 p.m.
Yup, the food was good enough, but I don't think that even the best restaurant is going to do well in that location. If I remember right, the only place that made a go of it there was primarily catering with delivery food on the side, and that'a about all that place is good for.
Blklight
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 9:47 a.m.
Yeah I'm gonna have to concur with seldon, Burrito Borimex was pretty good food, not the greatest, but it was leaps and bounds ahead of places like Qdoba and Chipotle. Sucks they couldn't make it, I ate there quite a bit and also tried to get others to do the same, but it was really in a bad location so I think that is what doomed them more than anything else. It certainly wasn't poor quality food!
Jessica Webster
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 9:30 a.m.
I was addicted to the green mole there. And the tacos al pastor. I'm going to miss having them around.
seldon
Wed, Dec 16, 2009 : 9:19 a.m.
Did you ever try the tacos? Or the Puerto Rican specials like mafongo or arroz con gandules? This was anything but a knock-off place. It was full-on authentic, and the food was great.
stopfoodignorance
Tue, Dec 15, 2009 : 8:34 p.m.
This just goes to show that even though BTB was successful and places like Qdoba and Chipotle have gotten a hold in the area, you can't just open a place and serve knock off burritos and "Mexican" food. I am greatly disappointed that with the large number of Latin peoples we have here in Washtenaw county, that there aren't anymore authentic GOOD places for Mexican, Latin and South American food. I used to live in Southwest Detroit and have missed that cuisine greatly since returning to the area. We need more place like La Fiesta Mexicana and Zorro's around here.