He built his Wichita restaurant as a taco place, but customers demanded a menu addition
When he opened his Molino’s Taqueria late last year, Mario Quiroz envisioned the new restaurant at 2035 N. Rock Road as a taco place.
The restaurant had a Chipotle- and Qdoba-like setup, where customers could choose their entree then select meat and toppings from a big display right in front of them. The star of the menu was the pirata, a big grilled taco that has been Quiroz’s signature item since he first opened Frida’s in 2008.
But the Chipotle-style setup confused some customers, he said, and many have been inquiring after an item that was not on the menu.
“People have been asking for burritos,” he said. “Some of the regulars who go to Molino’s on Waco were saying, ‘Why don’t you have burritos here?’”
Now, Quiroz has decided to give the people what they want. Last week, he added burritos as an option to his menu that already offered the choice of piratas, street tacos, nachos and bowls.
People pay one price for each of those choices, including the burrito — $8.99 — and they can fill it with whatever they want. (Though guacamole is $1 extra.) Quiroz has several toppings his competitors don’t, including things like beer-battered shrimp, shredded jicama, cucumber salsa, queso fresco, and grilled pineapple.
The staff will also grill the burrito when it’s filled if the customer desires.
There’s also another addition that will excite longtime fans of Molino’s and its predecessor, Frida’s Mexican Grill.
About a month ago, Quiroz added a self-serve salsa bar to the taqueria. It’s smaller in size than the big one he used to have set up at Frida’s, but it’s got all of his fresh-made salsas, including pico de gallo, chipotle sauce, jalapeno lime sauce, green tomatillo sauce and molcajetes salsa. It also has habenero onions, chopped onions, sliced limes and cilantro that people can add to their entrees.
People who live in neighborhoods near Molino’s Taqueria should watch their mailboxes for flyers good for a free burrito.
Molino’s Taqueria is open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays; from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays; and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.
This story was originally published August 8, 2019 at 5:01 AM.
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