Spouses Shashi and Swity Patel invested in the area’s first franchise for Bubbakoo’s Burritos as a family decision.
“This is my first business to try for myself and my family,” said Shashi Patel, a physical therapist.
The Patels have been living in Jacksonville about four years, and Swity Patel has more than seven years of experience working as a manager with Subway.
They have a 1-year-old daughter, Aadhya.
Swity Patel will be the day-to-day operator of Bubbakoo’s, while Shashi Patel and his father will help.
“Together we will run the business,” Shashi Patel said Aug. 3.
Patel said his cousin owns locations in the Northeast and has provided guidance.
“We were looking for a fast-food casual restaurant for about two years, and we found Bubbakoo’s,” he said.
“They have a very unique concept, fresh ingredients and a variety of food options.”
The Patels intend to build-out Bubbakoo’s Burritos in a 1,886-square-foot space at 9810 Baymeadows Road, No. 10, in Baymeadows Village.
They plan to open by January.
No contractor is identified for the estimated $150,000 project.
Gregory Ralph Architect of Bound Brook, New Jersey, is the architect.
The city issued a permit Aug. 12 for Heritage Signs Inc. to put up the name at a cost of $7,001.
Bubbakoos.com calls the concept a “hybrid skater-surf atmosphere.” It has about 85 restaurants, with more coming, in 18 states.
It has 10 Florida locations, with those coming soon in Jacksonville and Orlando.
Melbourne is the closest.
Bubbakoo’s opened in 2008 in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. It is based in Wall, New Jersey.
Bubbakoo’s Director of Marketing Ben Grannick said Aug. 6 that development in the Jacksonville area is part of the brand’s overall growth strategy to open 25 locations in the Southeast market.
“Jacksonville’s market is primed for more growth and consumers are increasingly ditching traditional fast-food options in favor of better-for-you alternatives,” he said.
“Bubbakoo’s Burritos offers an experience like no other fast casual restaurant,” he said by email.
He said Bubbakoo’s offers more than eight “Signature Creations.”
Grannick said outside those creations, “every meal is 100% customizable from the protein, beans, rice, toppings, and signature flavors.”
Signature burritos include Nashville hot chicken and hibachi steak and shrimp.
Other signature creations include quesadillas, chiwawas, tacos and taco salad.
Grannick described a chiwawa as “an oversized rice ball, the size of a softball.”
Bubbakoo’s offers build-your-own entrees and also sells starters, desserts and student and kids’ meals.
“There’s nothing like our food and skate-surf vibe in the country,” Grannick said.
He said the Bubbakoo’s name came from one of its founders, Paul Altero.
“It was Paul’s nickname in college while he attended the University of Delaware. He used the name Bubbakoo’s for a mock business plan in college,” he said.
He said the exact origin of the name is hard to find, but the “fun-filled vibe it portrays has stuck; not to mention the name really resonates with our customers.”
Grannick said Bubbakoo’s did not have a set number of restaurants planned in Northeast Florida, but looked forward to “large growth in the area.”
Shashi Patel said he hopes for two to three more locations in the next two to three years.
Bubbakoos.com says a franchise is $35,000. A typical location is 2,000 square feet and works best in strip centers, shopping malls, pads and nontraditional locations.
