Business of the Month: Downtown Burritos, 69 First Avenue
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If you want to eat mole poblano, one of the high points of Mexican cuisine, you can fly to Puebla, which is five and a half hours away (by plane). Or you can prepare it yourself, which would require about twenty-five ingredients and six hours of your time. Alternatively, you could swing by our November Business of the Month, Downtown Burritos (69 1st Avenue, between 4th and 5th Streets.), a casual, Poblano-immigrant-owned Mexican eatery where you can enjoy mole made in-house with the family recipe, along with dozens of other reasonably priced poblano and Mexican specialties.
Downtown Burritos is owned and operated by Iván and Mario Marín; but it was started by their older sister under the name Downtown Bakery back in 1990. She was the first of the siblings to come here from their hometown of Atlixco; and she settled in the East Village. The likely inspiration for opening a restaurant was her mother, an accomplished cook with an extensive menu of specialties in her repertoire. The Marín siblings grew up watching her cook and helping when they could. When the Maríns immigrated, they brought some of their mother’s recipes with them.
Iván reports that Mexican food did not enjoy much of a presence in the neighborhood nor in the city in 1990, when the restaurant opened. Nor was the average customer all that familiar with the cuisine at the time. Few of them had heard of moles or even guacamole. By Ivan’s account, many refused to eat burritos with their hands and struggled to handle open-faced tacos without having their insides fall out. The restaurant adapted, serving burritos wet (i.e. with sauce on top), to be eaten with knife and fork, and wrapping tacos shut, just like Iván’s mother used to do for him when he was a little boy. Gradually, the Downtown Bakery developed a following, drawing students and local residents, especially Latin American ones, with their freshly prepared food, authentic flavors, affordable prices, and welcoming staff.
Downtown Burritos’ menu has remained mostly unchanged since the day it opened. The difference now is that patrons typically know their way around Mexican food and even customize their selections. The runaway most popular dish at the restaurant is the breakfast burrito, which comes in numerous permutations. The mole, which comes as a dish, taco, or burrito, has also its fans, as does another poblano specialty, the stuffed pepper (made with chile poblano). Other non-poblano Mexican specialties on offer include oaxacan tamales, chilaquiles, tacos, and tortas.
Iván, the last of the siblings to immigrate to New York, moved here in 2001. And he started working at Downtown Burritos right away, helpling in all aspects of the operations. Before long, he became, along with his brother, the restaurant’s manager. When his sister decided to retire a few years ago, it made sense for the brothers, who had by then been running the place for almost two decades, to take it over. And so they did, continuing to operate the restaurant strictly as a family affair. This has come with both its advantages and its sacrifices.
On the one hand, it has meant that, when times are tough, as they were, for instance, during the pandemic, they can stay afloat by working long hours and reducing their take-home pay. On the other hand, it has also meant that they have, for periods, had to work long hours and reduce their take-home pay. And sometimes, that has not even been an option. Last year, the restaurant had to shut down to undertake renovations necessary to meet the fire and health codes. Regulars, which at this point include even children of longtime regulars, feared that this might spell the end Downtown Burritos. When, after eight months, the place reopened, the event was greeted with around-the-block lines of customers eager to congratulate the Marín brothers on the occasion and to order one of their justifiably renowned burritos.
For having expanded our palates for over thirty years with the home-cooked flavors of faraway lands, we are thrilled to name Downtown Burritos our November 2024 Business of the Month.
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Here is a map of all our Businesses of the Month:
