Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Founder Greg Maples sinks his teeth into a "Manja Manja Pesto Burrito."

Burritos go high-tech

By Suzanne Cristallo

High Tech Burrito--a "cult" eatery in Marin County, according to one of its 13 stockholders--has brought its "slick and clean, warm and fuzzy, family-oriented" fast-food restaurant to Los Gatos.

The 14th store to open since its founding in 1986, the restaurant serves strictly burritos and fajitas, with fillings beyond what is normally found in ethnic Mexican restaurants.

"We've tried to build a better burrito," says stockholder Melinda Booth, who has served as treasurer of the San Rafael-based chain for seven years. Noting that in the mid-1980s burritos were "heavy and lardy," Booth recalls that health-conscious and avant-garde Marinites "beat a path to our door" when the hole-in-the-wall restaurant opened in San Rafael.

The location was "awful" and there was no parking, yet the new taste of High Tech caught on quickly, being voted by Focus magazine as the best take-out restaurant in the Bay Area and by the Pacific Sun newspaper as the best meal under $10.

Burritos are priced from $4.95 to $5.95 and include the basic chicken, steak and pork burritos, as well as special Thai, barbecue, tofu and Cajun dishes.

They can be prepared according to customer specifications to include rice, prawns, salsa--such as the "nuclear" hot sauce--and fresh local produce. Imported and local beers and a variety of soft drinks are available, along with a children's menu that includes quesadillas. Standard orders can be filled in about five minutes.

"We have a beautiful view of the hills with outdoor seating," Booth notes, "but we cater to the stress-filled world of people on the go."

Booth, 59, joined the company as a bookkeeper in 1989 when it opened its second location in Novato. She had been a ground-floor investor and wanted to take an active part in what she viewed as a trend-setting company.

In the early 1980s, founder Greg Maples, 34, was fresh out of the U.S. Marine Corps and eager to find a business where he could invest a family inheritance. He saw a need for food more nutritious than the standard Mexican fare. What he developed grew slowly, with each new outlet added only after careful site selection and the drawbacks of the original location eliminated.

"We built them to last," Booth says of each new store. "They are stainless steel, slick and clean, utilitarian and modern." The 10 employees under new Los Gatos store manager Steven Zawada are paid more than the standard wage.

"We are a family company. We watch out for our employees and our customers," Booth says.

High Tech Burrito, Cornerstone Center, 15960 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos. Open Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. noon-9 p.m. 356-5677. Orders may be faxed to 356-5507.

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