Thriving Local: Bravo Burritos Smothering Taste Buds Since 1985

ST. CLOUD -- A favorite among St. Cloud locals, Bravo Burritos is up next in our Thriving Local series.

"The founders came from the central Minnesota area, and spent a number of years [13] in San Francisco and they traveled to Mexico. They figured they could bring that San Francisco style Mexican food to central Minnesota."

Bill and Helen Shay Ellenbecker opened Bravo Burritos in April 1985. Mike Lardy is the general manager. He says the business started in downtown St. Cloud.

"The original store was in downtown St. Cloud. The owners expanded into a couple of other locations and eventually culminated back into just this one location."

Now it's on 33rd Avenue South. Lardy has been with Bravo since his college days.

"It just kind of grew over the years to be a full-time career job. Now my wife works for us as well here and we are the future of the business. We will be buying it in a couple of years. We'll be the continuing face of Bravo Burritos moving forward."

Planning for the future has already begun with developing a new website to offer more ways to satisfy your burrito cravings.

"You can see just about any other restaurant in the country really that online ordering is big, delivery services are growing rapidly. We're utilizing those new technologies as much as we can to continue to grow our business."

Bravo Burritos does have more than just burritos, you can get enchiladas, tacos and other Mexican-style favorites. They also have a full bar and catering options. The restaurant is excited to say St. Cloud will continue to be its home.