Nothing completes a trip to Rowan County better than a local dining experience. We've set out to highlight a few of the many local restaurants that make our destination an original place to visit and eat. We’ve created a series of some of our many favorite original restaurants in Rowan County. Up next, Go Burrito.
Go Burrito! quickly became a fan favorite as soon as they opened their doors in Downtown Salisbury. After all, their restaurant wins the most Salisbury Post People's Choice Awards than any other business in Rowan County, but there’s a lot to the story that you may not know. Owner and burrito enthusiast, Mikey Wetzel, gave us an inside look at what makes Go Burrito! so special.
Mikey was once a video game developer for 16 years. He worked for Microsoft developing Xbox games like Halo, Grand Theft Auto and Gears on War. He and his wife decided they needed a change and moved from the West Coast to High Rock Lake located in Rowan County. Once they arrived in North Carolina, some of their family members decided to join them. At the time, Mikey and his sister were planning to open a candy store. While looking for spaces to rent, they came across the current Go Burrito! building. It was set up as a sandwich shop. They were hungry while looking at the space and on the drive home, the idea for Go Burrito! was born.
Go Burrito! was never destined to be an ordinary burrito restaurant like many of the big chains. They knew they wanted to marry the concept of a burrito restaurant with a bar, and did they ever. They offer late night live music, karaoke, trivia and more. They offer roof top dining and bar (the only one within 50 miles) that gives you a front row view of the Historic Salisbury mural. They also knew they waned to offer fresh food. They serve more than 35 fresh ingredients, even things you don't normally find at burrito restaurants, like quinoa. Most importantly, they have a special way to prepare their burritos - fluffing them before they're rolled and grilling them at the end. No gushy, bready tortilla sticking to the top of your mouth, and no big bite of beans. A perfectly warm burrito with all of the ingredients evenly mixed. We give it a chefs kiss. Then there's the queso. It's made from real cheese, not a mysterious cheese product. Lastly, their self serving salsa bar offers 8 made in house salsa.
According to Mikey, one of their big sellers is the San Diego burrito, which is a steak burrito with guacamole, pico de gallo, and French fries. The burritos they sell are California-style burritos, owning their history to Mission Street, San Francisco, and traditionally have rice, beans, cheese, and whatever you want to add to it. Well, in San Diego, they replace the rice with some form of potatoes: hash browns, tater tots, diced potatoes, but the most popular is French fries. They wanted a San Diego Burrito on their menu. However, French fries come frozen (and fry up crispy/best only if frozen) and Go Burrito! sells only fresh food. In fact, they're probably the only restaurant in town that didn't have a freezer, but they got a freezer just for French fries.
Go Burrito! considers the San Diego burrito a fan favorite among men. They tell us that women seem to love the ACP burrito, which contains chicken, rice, grilled, onions and queso. Pretty much it doesn't matter what you order, but you have to try their queso, guacamole and take a trip to the salsa bar. Their burritos are huge, but if there’s any room left over for dessert, you must try their Cheerwine Dumpcake. They make it from scratch using actual Cheerwine “syrup” for the soda machine.
We did learn some additional secrets about Go Burrito! Like they're growing and franchising. You can own your very own Go Burrito! if you want. They also have close to 40 (mostly full-time) employees. It takes a lot of awesome people to meet the demand that Go Burrito! sees in Salisbury. These employees are also responsible for inspiring many of the menu items. They're allowed to experiment in the kitchen and serve what the people want to eat.
Now for the good stuff, they cut up 160 pounds of chicken every day, they make 120 gallons of chips every day, and they're one of the top sellers of Cheerwine fountain soda. There's your proof that Go Burrito! is one of the most popular places in town.
Go Burrito! is open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. They offer indoor seating, second floor bar seating and the only rooftop seating and bar within 50 miles. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram.