If you have a burrito obsession, you probably already know about the Bonfire Burritos trailer at 17025 South Golden Road in Golden. For the past six years, four friends who grew up together in the small town just west of Denver have been slowly building up their DIY outdoor eatery serving breakfast and lunch burritos, tacos and green chile.
Now Raymond Pierandozzi, Ian Lanier, Matt King and Travis Toms are ready to move inside. They've signed a lease at 2221 Ford Street and will open a brick-and-mortar Bonfire in mid-October, according to Pierandozzi.
What started out as a tiny trailer the four purchased from the woman who once sold them burritos in high school grew into a larger trailer surrounded by outdoor seating. As online ordering and Bonfire's catering business grew, even the kitchen inside the newer trailer couldn't keep up with the demand, so the move became necessary.
The expansion to a permanent restaurant will allow the business partners to add a liquor license, expand the menu with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free offerings and launch a mobile food truck that will replace the trailer. Pierandozzi says that the new Bonfire Burritos will be located in an old prefab Taco John's building that was dropped off in Golden in the 1970s but hasn't been a restaurant in many years, so a complete kitchen buildout is required.
But once completed, the 2,000-square-foot space will seat twenty customers inside, with a spacious patio for another fifty burrito fans. But the overall feel of the place will draw from the original trailer stationed in front of a nursery. "That's what we're trying to encapsulate at the new place," Pierandozzi adds. "We know that's a big part of the experience — the setting and DIY feel."
So you'll probably see elements of the trailer incorporated into the new decor, and there will also be a bar the four friends are building using reclaimed wood from a friend's property in California. The new location is only about a mile from the original site, but it's closer to central Golden and within walking distance for students at Golden High School and the Colorado School of Mines. Along with the expanded space will come expanded hours; Bonfire will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily once the move is complete.