Bengaluru: Bert Mueller was in the fourth grade in Maryland in the US when a classmate of his wrote about her travels to India. Now 34, he can barely recall the contents of her essay, except that there were ‘elephants’ involved. It was the first of many “positive sentiments” he got about a country he knew so little about but finally became his home. Fast forward to 2023, and Mueller is now a ‘Bangalorean’, his identity intrinsically linked to the pan-Indian Mexican chain of restaurants, California Burrito.
He may well be among the pioneers who unlocked India’s Mexican food potential and now sells an average of 2,404 burritos and 4,321 tacos every day across his over 50 restaurants in India. Together, they raked in revenues of more than Rs 110 crore last year, says Mueller.
“It took us almost 10 years to reach 50 restaurants and our hope is that we reach 100 in the next two [years],” says Mueller, who calls Bengaluru home.
The brand has expanded rapidly with 850 employees and a larger corporate office space in Indiranagar, Bengaluru. “Garage to graveyard to where we are now”, is how Mueller describes how they moved from offices over the years. One was next to a cemetery.
Having established a presence in Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and most recently Chennai, Meuller is now eyeing Mumbai, a city infamous for its high rentals and capricious clients.
“Because of the rent, you go for smaller stores, which means that the brand and format get compromised. Our thinking was that we should reach a certain level…and then do it right and be happy with our brand,” he says.
The young entrepreneur from Maryland is ready for the next stage of growth.
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Corn chapati, Indian cheese
Mueller landed in Jaipur in early 2010 as part of his music and public policy course. Though he loved the food in Rajasthan, he was intrigued when a local wedding he attended at the time played Mexican music.
“There was a Mexican girl in our programme and she cooked the food, and that’s when I thought wow… this is interesting. You could tell people really liked her food,” he recalls.
Most foreigners in their 20s in a strange land would have stopped there. At best, a vignette for friends back home. But not Mueller. This experience was the genesis of his vision of opening an American-Mexican restaurant in India.
Growing up in Maryland, Mueller says he did have some exposure to different cultures. His family loved Indian food and in high school, he even did a project on Hinduism, giving him a deeper insight into a culture that piqued his interest.
“In college, I thought I should go somewhere that was very different from the US, and India definitely ticked those boxes,” he said.
Hailing from a family of academics and medical professionals, entrepreneurship, that too in India in the high-pressure hospitality business, was new for the young American. He roped in his friends, Gaelan Draper and Dharam Khalsa, who had accompanied him on his trip to India. Together, they scouted for locations to set up their first restaurant. The first California Burrito opened its doors to the public in October 2012 at Bengaluru’s Embassy Golf Links (EGL).
The three friends dipped into their personal kitty to fund the venture. But the partnership broke up over the years. Draper was the first to leave in 2014 and Khalsa left in 2020, leaving Mueller as the sole owner-operator of California Burrito.
It’s not uncommon for Indians to go abroad, work in large corporations, return home with a concept, implement it and convert it into a great success story. A large number of Indian startups have emulated Western concepts. But a ‘Westerner’ coming to India with a brick-and-mortar Mexican restaurant concept is rare.
Mueller often compares California Burrito with the ‘darshini-style’ of restaurants in Bengaluru; self-service and quick south Indian food-serving eateries on every street corner.
“You can see the food being prepared in front of you and choose what you want in it,” he says.
The similarities between Indian and Mexican cuisine are what Mueller focused on. Rice, beans and corn were the common denominator. But a lot of the meat, a staple in Mexican food, had to be dialled down, giving more vegetarian options. Mueller sometimes refers to tortillas as ‘corn chapatis’.
The company has since contracted farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to grow specific kinds of vegetables like tomatillos, jalapeños and even Haas avocados to make the cuisine as authentic as possible while also keeping costs down by growing locally.
The brand is clear that it will not get sucked into making fusion foods but Mueller admits that they did try blending some Indian and Mexican cuisine in the past.
In 2014, the company rolled out ‘Burritos of India’ with flavours like Rogan Josh, Chettinad and more. It performed well but this was not the direction he wanted for the company, says Mueller.
The brand has, however, included as many vegetarian options to diversify the offering. Paneer is a favourite and can be found in rice bowls, nachos and even tacos.
“It’s Indian cheese,” he laughs.
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Tequila and Ambareesh
When choosing the city for their first restaurant, Mueller and his co-founders whittled down their choices to Gurugram and Bengaluru. The three young entrepreneurs finally picked Bengaluru because of its weather, low rentals, its IT crowd and its cosmopolitan nature.
But what perhaps sealed the deal for Bengaluru is Mueller’s tryst with a Kannada movie star.
He recalls how he and Draper had just walked uninvited to the home of yesteryear Kannada actor, Ambareesh.
“I just showed up at his house…I bought him a bottle of Tequila and he liked Tequila,” Mueller laughs.
The American had seen Ambareesh’s pictures plastered across town when everyone was celebrating the actor’s 60th birthday in 2012.
“I had seen a few Kannada movies and I really liked him. I think in the US I liked Clint Eastwood, and Ambareesh is like Clint Eastwood for Karnataka,” he adds.
One of the company’s vans even sports stickers of the actor. But more importantly, Ambareesh’s gesture and warmth to three strangers convinced them that Bengaluru was the right city for California Burrito. Mueller is not sure if Ambareesh ever visited his restaurant.
“He was a very friendly guy. Maybe that was a symbol of Bengaluru ….you know the locals welcoming outsiders in kind of open arms,” he says.
Due to a limited budget, the company relied on word of mouth for advertising. Only recently has Mueller tapped into social media for marketing.
Ajay Kaul, a food and beverage industry veteran and California Burrito investor referred to Mueller as an ‘American Marwari’ in a 2021 Forbes article.
He still drives the Omni van around which he has used since the early days of the venture to handpick vegetables from local markets to ensure quality and save on costs. He had learnt enough Kannada to be able to haggle the prices.
Mueller’s California Burrito uses local culture to connect with people.
“Neenga Mexican Rice Bowl try pannunga, neenga like pannvinge. Vanga Nanbargale pola (You try the Mexican Rice Bowl and you will like it. Let’s go friends)” he said in an Instagram post on 3 May to promote their 50th store opening in Chennai.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)