Mercerians and Maconites alike that enjoy Moe’s, Chipotle and even the fast food Taco Bell will be pleased to know that a new location of the famous Athens, Ga. based Barberitos opened on March 5 in Macon. Located at 4921 Riverside Drive, Barberitos will be sure to have a robust patronage, as it has a rabid fanbase from all over the southeast.
The original Barberitos is still open near the University of Georgia’s North Campus. UGA was also where Jittery Joe’s Coffee spawned before eventually heading to Macon and a host of other cities and college campuses.
Barberitos is best known as another Tex-Mex place with the usual burritos and quesadillas. There are now 26 in existence with the creation of the Riverside location, with the other 24 spread out across Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Barberitos is much like a Moe’s, offering a variety of that fare in vegan varieties as well. Something that tends to set them apart is a lack of a freezer on their restaurant premises, ensuring that only the freshest food is made. This might cause the price to go up, but the quality far outshines competitors that have frozen food or premade concoctions.
The name Barberitos comes from the founder’s last name Barber and the word burrito, a dish they are famous for. The company also seems to have many promotions in order to keep attracting new customers, as well as utilizing social media such as Facebook to reach a larger footprint. One of the more recent top posts on the main Barberitos company Facebook page had people begging for the Macon location’s opening, and another post saw a soldier in Afghanistan writing about how much he missed it and wanted that first when he got back in the U.S.
Barberitos is sure to be a hit with Mercer students regardless of its proximity to campus in comparision to similar restaurant  chains.