Fighting Burrito to make Welch Avenue its new home

Micaela Cashman

Fighting Burrito has found a new home.

The popular restaurant, currently located at 2712 Lincoln Way, will move to 117 Welch Ave., next door to Cy’s Roost.

The building most recently hosted Mochi smoothie and ice cream shop, it also held a Dairy Queen.

The new location will open in mid to late summer, said owner Matthew Goodman said.

Currently, he is in the process of designing the interior. While no physical work has happened yet, Goodman said the designing has proceeded well.

He said he is moving the restaurant for three main reasons: gaining more business, meeting more students and providing a more comfortable atmosphere.

Currently, Fighting Burrito is the furthest eatery from Campustown that competes in the late-night food market.

“The closer we are to the district,” Goodman said, “the more business we’ll have. We do very well late-night, and the new location will support that.”

Open until 4 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Fighting Burrito has the latest hours in Campustown. Goodman hopes this will help the restaurant pull in more customers at its new location.

Goodman said his restaurant gets the most business in the early hours of the morning, but he hopes moving to Welch Avenue will gain more business during the daytime.

“Right now, there’s a certain kind of customer that comes in,” Goodman said.

Those customers are mostly college-aged students, and they often live off campus. Students living on campus sometimes don’t venture out to where Fighting Burrito is currently, Goodman said. By moving to Welch Avenue, the restaurant will be closer to where new students explore first.

He wants to make the new space a comfortable environment for all age groups, including professors.

“We want to provide a nice environment and good food,” he said.

While the Welch Avenue building is not bigger, Goodman said he has invested more into using the space wisely in order to create that nice environment.

The site may be changing, but Fighting Burrito will remain the same restaurant with the same food and people that has made it popular. It prides itself on fresh products and satisfying meals.

“It’s still going to be us,” Goodman said. “We’ll compete with the other restaurants the same way we always have: We provide a unique product.”

Goodman said the restaurant was a success even when it first opened six years ago, but he is excited to leave the old site behind.

“It’s just like moving into a new house or apartment,” he said. “You get rid of all the old stuff that drove you crazy before. Of course, I’m sure there will be things that drive me crazy about the new location, too, but it’s very exciting to acquire a new place.”

He hopes the transition between locations will go smoothly so the restaurant will not have to close for any length of time.

Goodman said the old site may host a bakery or coffee shop next.