Gerardo Rosas and his wife, Liliana Lopez, give a simple answer when asked about the motivation behind their new business, Mr. Burrito, 2508 Lincoln Way.

“We had no jobs,” Rosas said with a laugh. “That was one big reason.”

Rosas used to work construction, but was laid off when the economy took a tumble.

The couple made several moves, and returned to family in Veracruz, Mexico, for a time before ending up in Des Moines.

That’s when they decided to start their own business, aided by an uncle in the area.

Rosas said his initial inspiration for Mr. Burrito was a restaurant he saw while working in Gainesville, Fla.

“It’s a campus town, too,” Rosas said. “I saw a place just like this one. I liked the idea.”

He said he also draws inspiration from national chains, but wants to differentiate through the quality of his food.

“The concept that we want is homemade,” he said.

As such, most everything is made fresh daily.

“We never make something for 2 or 3 days,” Rosas said.

Many of the menu items are cooked from recipes that have been passed down through more than three generations in Lopez’s family.

“She takes the recipes from her mom or grandma, and she put something of her [in them],” Rosas said. “And this is the result.”

The restaurant’s carlota — a dessert made with crushed cookies, cream and pineapple — has a particularly strong family tie.

Rosas said that when Lopez was a child, her grandmother would make the dessert, and she and her siblings would fight over who got the opportunity to dip their finger in — and eat — the mixture that was left in the blender.

Some of the recipes, though, have been modified to fit American tastes. The barbacoa, for example, is eaten in southern Mexico, but Rosas said that it’s not usually served in a burrito.

In fact, Rosas said he hadn’t ever even had a burrito before coming to the United States.

“Down there I never heard about the burritos,” Rosas said. “Our food — we didn’t eat it on burritos.”

When opening the business, Rosas’ construction training came in handy. Aside from the plumbing and electrical work, which was contracted out, Rosas was able to complete much of the project himself.

“I did everything,” Rosas said. “We painted, we built this wall — as a matter of fact, we built the sneezeguard.”

Rosas and Lopez said that starting the business has been a mix of emotions.

“It’s exciting on one hand, but it’s stress on the other hand,” Rosas said.

Currently, the shop only has one other employee besides Rosas and Lopez, so when the restaurant is open until 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, they end up working 15-hour days.

“I sleep some in the morning, and she comes to cook,” Rosas said.

The restaurant officially opened in April, and Rosas said business has been picking up as word of mouth about the restaurant spreads.

“So far, it’s good,” Rosas said.

During a particularly busy lunch, Rosas even had to bring another table up from the basement, in order to seat more customers.

“The first week was real good because of Veishea,” Rosas said. “This week it’s been kinda slow, but I’ve been seeing new faces.”