Burrito Brothers Taco Co. has been part of Gainesville's food scene since 1976. Now, it finally has an indoor restaurant.
The restaurant moved into a new portion of the existing building at the corner of Northwest First Avenue and Northwest 14th Street. The grand opening was held Friday.
Burrito Brothers occupies just one of the six suites in the brand new U14 building, across the street from the University of Florida.
Dough Religion, a pizzeria and bar, and office space for Landmark Properties are the only other businesses scheduled to move into the building so far. The other suites are still up for rent, according to Oelrich Construction and Front Street Commercial Real Estate Group.
U14 sits on the lot that previously housed the Presbyterian Student Center, according to Oelrich Construction, but the old building was demolished and rebuilt.
U14 offers nearly 4,000 square feet of outdoor dining space, according to Front Street, with a large rooftop deck on the second level of the building facing West University Avenue.
Burrito Brothers is the first business inside the building to open. Now that it's finished, the interiors of the other suites will be completed, said Joshua Smith, a manager at the restaurant.
For Lauren Stucki, general manager of Burrito Brothers for almost 13 years, there are a lot of big changes that go with moving into the new building.
“I would say beer, I think that’s a big change and it’s also a game changer for us being able to finally have beer,” she said.
“It’s been going really well. Sunday afternoon we had a decent afternoon bar crowd in here, just people hanging out, watching baseball and drinking beers, Stucki said. "That’s kind of what we’re shooting for.”