Medicine Hat Media

Mucho Burrito Closes

Mucho Burrito

*UPDATE* September 8th – It is now confirmed that Mucho Burrito is open to the public once again.

*UPDATE* Just got an email reading: “I just reviewed your comments on line and do respect and appreciate. We will be reopened in a few short weeks. Looking forward to seeing you there again as a customer.” – Stephen Travers, President – Extreme Brandz Western Canada.

Looks like it is good news for all the fans, we might do an update when it re-opens. Otherwise, below is the original article:

Mucho Burrito has recently closed as of this weekend. A lot like East Side Mario’s closing earlier this month there is a lot of speculation and not a lot of information as to why. I only stopped in there once when it first opened because I was intrigued at the concept. Although I wasn’t completely sold on the variety of sides they had (for example, I was expecting mexi-fries rather than plain tortilla chips with salsa)  the rest of the food was good and I thoroughly enjoyed the homemade-style salsa. I believe I got both a chicken burrito and a beef burrito with the hottest salsa – and it definately was HOT.

Seemingly this place would of got a lot of business being so close to everything in the new developing area, but then again, East Side Mario’s was seemingly doing well as well. So what’s going on? Anybody with more information, feel free to comment or contact us.

User Comments

13 Responses to “Mucho Burrito Closes”

  1. July 28th, 2009 at 10:44 AM


    Sean says:

    I have only been there once as well, but when it first opened, it was the place to be and always busy. I’m in Regina right now, and Mucho Burrito is still open here, so it’s not chain-wide or anything.

  2. July 28th, 2009 at 11:41 AM


    Dusty says:

    I liked it … but I guess I didn’t like it enough to go more than once, which might be the story with most people – hence why it has closed?

    Considering how rarely I make my own meals, tacos/burritos are something I actually make more often than I have ever went out to eat.

  3. July 28th, 2009 at 5:17 PM


    Taylor says:

    I’ve been there a few times as I work across the street and I’ve always liked it, a nice change from Taco Time since it seems at least slightly more fresh. However, in all the times I’ve been there including times that should have been “rush hour” I have never experienced a line up of more than one person ahead of me. In addition, I have more than once heard complaints from other customers witnessing the staff being treated poorly and having experienced poor service. So maybe a closure isn’t such a shock?

  4. August 7th, 2009 at 8:46 AM


    Diana says:

    There’s a sign on the door, closed for renovations. Isn’t that usually code for a health code violation, and mandatory shut down? Seems odd to be renovating a space that’s been open less than a year.

  5. August 7th, 2009 at 9:01 AM


    Vaughn says:

    Not sure, originally I don’t think the closed sign said anything about renovations; however, I did manage to track down the Mucho Burrito page on the Palliser Health site that was taken off the main listing: http://www.palliserhealth.ca/Mucho-Burrito.html

    Seems there was a complaint and health problems in December, but it looks like they fixed most of them in April. These observations that were left definitely didn’t need any kind of renovations and most restaurants in the city have 2-4 observations so I don’t think health violations contributed considering they are considered pretty clean by average. Definitely don’t think health problems were a factor.

  6. August 10th, 2009 at 3:09 PM


    Krypticz says:

    The Mucho Burrito owner had her franchise revoked by head office, for reasons that can not be disclosed because of the legalities of the issues involved.

    This was the formal statement that was given to me and my wife when we called and complain that we did not receive notice of the closure, Mucho Burrito was hired to cater our rehearsal dinner.

    Head office informed us that they had to step in and deal with the “situation”, and that they planned on doing some reno’s but unfortuately could not promise they would be open in time for us.

  7. August 20th, 2009 at 8:28 AM


    Sean says:

    As it stands, none of the health code violations that Von posted are of consequence to be shut down and renovated, except maybe for a tile here or there, but that doesn’t take months.

    After reading the health code violations that the store had practiced, and hearing people talk about the situation, the ‘renovation’ is probably just a metaphor for finding a new Manager and/or staff. It wouldn’t really be business-friendly to say “We are shutting down cause we practice bad sanitary habits.”

  8. September 8th, 2009 at 8:59 PM


    Dean says:

    Dorothy & I went to Dollar Giant this afternoon and stopped at the Starbucks located next door to Mucho Burrito. There is a banner on Mucho Burrito reading “Now Open,” and we saw a customer sitting at a window seat munching happily.

  9. September 9th, 2009 at 8:29 AM


    Vaughn says:

    @Dean, I heard about this and forgot about to update the post, thanks Dean.

  10. October 23rd, 2009 at 10:48 PM


    Nana says:

    Mucho has had 3 managers. The first was was the owner of the Medicine Hat Franchise and Mucho closed because it needed a new owner/manager. Since then, so since the beginning of october mucho has got another manger yet.

  11. October 28th, 2009 at 1:02 PM


    Past victim says:

    The problem with Mucho is not the store managers( owners) ..its the operations manager who is the real issue .

  12. January 20th, 2014 at 11:56 PM


    Disgruntled Franchisee says:

    As an existing franchisee, I can only say that Mucho Burrito is nothing short of a scam. The problem with the brand is not the owners, but rather the individuals and the culture of the company that prevents franchisees from making any money. Food cost and labour are prohibitively high and head office does not care if franchisees lose money. They defraud franchisees into buying stores with false numbers and unrealistic expectations and then once you buy you are made well aware of the fact that the brand exists only to make money themselves. They pass on all costs to franchisees without absorbing any price increases on their end and they fail to pass on these rising prices to customers for fear of losing guests. In the end, owners lose their life savings as they forced to shut down stores as they cannot afford to feed them anymore and they have burned through all their cash. Asking for help from head office in terms of royalty or advertising relief is like trying to squeeze blood from stone. I advise all those interested in purchasing a Mucho Burrito franchise to run away as fast as you can. Do not listen to their sales pitch as I can assure you that you will go bankrupt in a couple of years as the model that they are currently franchising is a disaster. Please stay away from this franchise…You are better off going to the casino as your odds of making money are actually higher compared to a Mucho franchise

  13. March 18th, 2014 at 10:10 PM


    LookingForInfo says:

    Hey Disgruntled Franchisee, is there any way to contact you?
    I have a few questions, thanks!

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