Qdoba opens its doors Tuesday

Morley sophomore Emily M. Baker said she was pleasantly surprised Monday when she received a free meal from Qdoba Mexican Grill, 1529 S. Mission.

The newly opened restaurant was hosting its private opening from 4 to 6 p.m., during which it served free food to invited guests and others who stopped by.

“I didn’t even know about the private opening and when I got to the cash register they told me it was free,” Baker said. “I’ve been to the Qdoba in Big Rapids, and I think the food is great.”

The private gathering celebrated Southwind Restaurants’ opening of its third Qdoba. The other two are located in Lansing and Big Rapids.

Southwind Restaurants is a partnership that consists of four owners: Greg Johnroe, Kevin Egnatuk, Norm Spalding and Bob Spalding. Egnatuk said the group also owns 24 Burger King restaurants, which are spread out across Michigan.

Plans to build in Mount Pleasant began last spring because of the size of its population, its college atmosphere and its neighboring casino, Egnatuk said.

Norm Spalding said the restaurant is well-staffed with 35 employees, including four managers. He said training began on Thursday and lasted through Saturday; they took Sunday off for the Super Bowl.

After opening so many Burger Kings, Southwinds was looking in a new direction when it came across Qdoba, Egnatuk said. He said it wanted to go with a concept that was growing, and it felt Qdoba’s fast-casual approach was the way to go.

“It’s fun to be excited about what you are selling,” Egnatuk said. “All of us were really impressed with the food when we first tried Qdoba in Grand Rapids.”

Fenton freshman Alyssa Romano has been a fan of Qdoba since she first ate at one in Flint.

“I like that they give you such a large amount of food for a good price,” Romano said. “The variety of burritos is also a plus.”

Portland freshman Justine Rodabaugh came with Romano for her first time to Qdoba.

Rodabaugh said she was impressed with the size and taste of the chicken burrito.

Southwind Restaurants plans to open more Qdobas in Michigan.

“We bought the rights to Qdoba for nine or 10 locations all over the state,” Egnatuk said. “Within the next 12 to 18 months, we should have three more underway in Saginaw, Traverse City and West Lansing.”

Qdoba officially opened at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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