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Burrito businesses are the latest trend in Bowling Green.
Two Mexican restaurants, El Mercado on Wooster Street and Qdoba Mexican Grill on South Main Street opened this summer.
Entrees are prepared in front of the customer at each of these restaurants and are wrapped in foil to be easily carried and eaten.
‘People won’t settle for mediocre any more,’ said Nadya Shihadeh, co-owner of Qdoba. ‘As a whole, the way people are moving [is towards] a level of freshness.’
Shihadeh is in a partnership with her sister Lameice and her brother-in-law Kory Kenny.
The trio came to the area and fell in love with the downtown community and people.
Shihadeh said she really wanted Bowling Green to be the location of her first store and has been pleased with her decision since opening Aug. 18.
She graduated from Ohio State University’s school of hospitality management, Shihadeh has been in the restaurant business for 10 years.
She has also owned a pizza shop in Findlay for seven years.
She said this type of restaurant is not only a burrito trend, but the type of food customers desire.
‘People don’t have time for a full service meal,’ she said.
But Shihadeh also pointed out that people do not want fast food and that her restaurant is a happy medium.
‘Qdoba falls in the middle,’ Shihadeh said.
Selling burritos, grilled quesadillas, nachos, tacos, taco salads, and tortilla soup, Qdoba has attracted steady business.
‘Business is booming,’ said Alisha Leonard, assistant general manager at Qdoba. ‘We’ve had lots of wonderful comments.’
Shihadeh attributes their success to the innovate style of the restaurant.
‘Qdoba to us means fast, fresh, and friendly,’ Shihadeh said. ‘It is a new kind of restaurant.’
Mike Sader, owner of El Mercado, says he decided to open his business after discovering that Bowling Green was lacking an authentic Mexican restaurant.
‘El Mercado is an authentic, Mexican taqueria that sells Mexican style tacos and burritos,’ Sader said.
Sader described taquerias as six by six rooms where you go in and grab something wholesome and healthy to eat.
He hopes that the authenticity of his restaurant is apparent.
Growing up on the west coast, Sader learned to prepare food with a different style than other restaurants.
El Mercado, which opened the first week of May, offers chips and salsa, nachos, a spiced shrimp salad, tacos, burritos, tortillas ensaladas, and authentic Mexican drinks.
Students can expect a typical meal at El Mercado and Qdoba to cost around $6 or $7, including a drink.
But the quality of food is worth the price, Shihadeh said.
No food is frozen and guacamole is made fresh daily.
‘Everything is made to order fresh,’ she said.
As an escape from classes and the stress of college, Annie Crabill, sophomore, likes not only the food at Qdoba, but also the atmosphere.
‘I keep coming back,’ Crabill said. ‘It does not feel like BG here.’
Jaci Kleinhenz, senior, likes the size of the portions.
‘I can get a whole meal in a burrito,’ Kleinhenz said.
