Oh my God I love Pancheros

I wrote about food again because I was really hungry.
First, just look at this for about ten seconds.

That, my friend, is a burrito from Pancheros. Beyond that tortilla is whatever you want it to be. Chicken? You bet! Rice? Yes sir? Deliciously warm and just-spicy-enough queso? For a dollar extra you sure can! Puppies? I sure hope not! Really though, a Pancheros burrito is probably one of my favorite things in life. I've been a regular customer (once or twice a week) for about a year now. This blog post isnt all about my love for Pancheros. Its also about my biased admiration for their business model and how they market their product.

Pancheros is set up in the same way as Subway (which I'm sure everyone is fimilar with). You walk in and are asked to choose between a burrito, quesadilla, taco, or salad. The most popular is obviously the burrito, which has become it's calling card. You then choose the type of meat (my favorite is chicken) then add rice, (or beans, which I think are gross) cheese, salsa, corn or really whatever is your preferance. Pancheros chose this model probably to put an emphasis on customer choice. The one thing from Pancheros that is standard is their tortillas. They press a lump of dough at 420 degrees and then allow it to achieve a golden brown color. Pancheros is proud of their "fresh pressed tortillas", adopting the slogan "it's all about the tortilla".

I admire Pancheros business strategies as much as their food. Pancheros (or 'Panch' as dubbed by youth) originally set out to be a quantity Mexican restaurant with no specific intended audience. Their first location was in down town Iowa City, Iowa. Its close proximity to popular shops frequented by college students at the University of Iowa made it an instant hit. The chain has been expanding ever since. Although it exists primarily in the Midwest, a few locations exist in other states such as Arizona, Maryland and Florida. Recently, Pancheros has been making an effort to attract itself to more young people (even though that is already a good majority of its business). Pancheros opened up its own blog, named after its slogan Bob My Burrito. There the social/marketing manager posts many videos talking to his audience. The manager, a young man named Reid, creates a young feel about Pancheros. He connects with his audience using twitter, a popular social networking site among young people. There, followers of Pancheros' twitter account can win prizes via "twiter trivia" where the first person to tweet back can win a free burrito. Pancheros has an "ambassador program" where young people who love Pancheros can become a representative for the store. I'll apply for the position soon, as my obsession level should be apparent.


Alright, so I'm really hungry now. I'm going to go get a burrito. Bye.