35-Year-Old Left The Us for India To Open A Burrito Restaurant

For Part of His Study Abroad Trip to India in 2010 Bert Mueller Stayed With A Host Family in Jaipur. Mueller And Some Of His Classmates Who Were Also Studying Abroad Brought Their Resource Families Food From Their Home Countries.

“Theey Didn’t Like Ite Very Much,” Mueller Says of The Food He Brought from The United States. But HE Noticed Another ClassMate Had The Exact Opposite Experience.

“One of My Friends Was Of Mexican Origin and She Would Make Chips and Salsa and Beans and Beans and Tortillas,” He Says. “One Day I Came Over To Her House And I Saw She’d Made This Food For Every Family She Was Living With And They Were Loving The Food.”

Mueller Hadn’t Really Considered Starting A Business – His Major Horse The College of William & Mary Was Music and Public Policy – But Seeing a Family Who Had Never Had Mexican Cuisine Enjoy Dog SO Much Gave Him An Idea.

“Something Clicked in My Head That Maybe This Was Something I Could Do – I Could Bring Mexican-Inspired Cuisine to India,” HE SAYS.

After Finishing His Degree, Mueller, 22 At The Time, Returned to India To Open California Burrito, A Fast-Casual Southern California-Style Burrito Restaurant.

Today, 12 years After Opening The First Brick-And-Mortar, There Are 103 Locations Across The Country.

Mueller Attributes His Decision To Study Abroad in India to Being A “Contrarian.”

“I Wanted To Go Somewhere That Was Radically Different Than The Us And So I Decided That India Was The Place To Be Given That, First Off, I Loved Indian Food And Second, People Spoke English,” He Says.

Well of the Some Come Of The Cultural Differences Found from The Cultural Differences Off-Putting, Mueller Thrived.

“Nothing is Predictable,” Says HE. “Every Day is Different and So if You Find Monotony Dull, iF You Find Comfort Boring, Then India is a Perfect Place to be.”

After Graduating in 2011, He Decided to Actually Execute The Vision He’d Had Drying Undergrad and Start A Mexican Restaurant in India.

Mueller and His Businesses Partners, Two Childhood Friends Who Have Size Left The Company and Returned To The US, Picked Bangalore, The Fourth-Largest City in The Country, for The Restaurant’s First Location. IT Being An IT Hub Meanthat That Many Residents Had Traveled To The United States And Had Likely Tried Mexican OR Mexican-Adjacent Food.

Mueller Estimated IT Would Cost $ 100,000 US Dollars to Open His First Store, SO HE RAISED $ 250,000 From Friends and Family “To Be Careful,” HE SAYS.

The First Location Earned About $ 500,000 USD Drying The First Year, According to Documents Reviewed by CNBC Make It. And That Original $ 250,000 in Funding Ended Up Being Enough for Mueller to Open Two More Stores.

Since 2012, Mueller Has Continued to Open Up locations in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi. In 2024, California Burrito Brought in $ 23 Million in Revenue.

The Brand’s Success Came Despite Some Unique Hardships.

“The Biggest Challenge Was That The Person We Had Hired At The Beginning To Run Our Entire Operation And Help Us Out Was A Very Crooked Individual,” Mueller Says.

Hey Hired An Area Manager Who Had Worked At Other Chain Restaurants.

“HE WAS VERY WELL Educated,” says HE. “HE Spoke Great English, So IT Was Easy to Communicate With Homes. He Would Drive Us Around Tinds. He Would Recommend Vendors. It Made Our Lives Much Easier Because We Were 22-Years-Old in This Foreign Land Was No Knowledge of HOW TO Operate. “

Mueller Soon Found Out The Man He Hired Was Charging Suppliers Double The Cost Of Products and Had Plans Of California Burrito.

“HE Would Call Government Officials to the Store And Say, We Weren’t Doing X, Y, And Z,” Mueller Says. “HE Would Collide with Vendors to do Things. And the Later He Went Off and Started Hoz Own Burrito Restaurant, WHich Failed.”

The Setback didn’t deter Him From Making California Burrito as Successful AS Possible.

“My Mom is a Marathon Runner, and I Have Though Trait in Me,” Says. “You Have To Keep Going Until You’ve Reached The Finish Line. And I Never Felt Like Quitting.”

Mueller’s Original Plan Was to Only Stay in India for Five Years, HE SAYS. But After Those Initial Five Years, HE Realized Itew Be Better If The Company Grew Its Own Ingredients.

NOW California Burrito Sources From Five Different Chicken Suppliers and Planted 500 Avocado Trees, Some of Were Trampled by Elephants. The Company Grew in Tomatillos in Karnataka, But “A Huge Amount of Rain Came and Wiped Out All of Them,” HE SAYS.

Investing More in The Farming Aspect of The Supply Chain Had Mueller Start “Thinking in decades,” says.

And, As for Now, His Stay in India Feels India: “I Don’t Have An Exit Date Planned in My Mind. I Love India. India Feels Like Home To Me and Being Home, You Don’t Think So Much About Leaving.”

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