A food truck famous for its giant bacon-wrapped burrito has opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Tucson’s south side.
Only a mile separates Percheron Mexican Grill's food truck at 4860 S. 12th Ave. from the new 3,600-square-foot Percheron Mexican Grill restaurant at 444 W. Ajo Way, but owner Diego Valencia’s philosophy for the twin eateries takes him on a slightly different route.
Manager Claudia Duarte prepares a burrito on the line at Percheron Mexican Grill, 444 W. Ajo Way, on March 5. Percheron was first launched by owner Diego Valencia in 2013 as a food truck. It continues to operate a mile away from the new brick-and-mortar.
While the food truck, which he opened in 2013 on the corner of South 12th Avenue and West Irvington Road, offers steak, pork and vegetarian burritos, Sonoran hot dogs, quesadillas and caramelos, the brick-and-mortar version, which opened Feb. 29 on the corner of South 12th Avenue and West Ajo Way, is leaning more into the fast-food model of some national burger chains.
“We want to focus on the burrito and Sonoran hot dog combos,” he said — think meals complete with a drink and fries. “We want to do it fast and good and give it to the customer at a good price.”
The new restaurant only offers carne asada burritos, although you can get it regular or wrapped in bacon, a specialty that put Percheron on the foodie map in 2017 and forced the restaurant to change its name from WhataBurro once the Texas burger chain with a similar name got wind of it.
Percheron Mexican Grill’s new restaurant will have a streamlined menu anchored by carne asada burritos and Sonoran hot dogs.
You can get the burritos and hot dogs a la carte, as well as carne asada tacos, quesadillas and caramelos. And unlike the food truck, the restaurant opens at 5 a.m. to serve breakfast burritos made with chorizo, bacon or ham.
Valencia has been considering opening the second location since he bought the building in 2019, after the Mexican restaurant El Tá Comiendo closed. For three years, he used the space as a commissary kitchen to support the food truck and for storage before renovating the building.
“When you are thinking of carne asada burritos, we want you to think of Percheron,” he said.
Angel Bachelief, left, and Andrea Prieto prepare food orders at The Coop at American Eat Company, 1439 S. Fourth Ave. The Coop spun off of the popular food truck Cowpig.
Making the jump
Percheron is the latest Tucson food truck to expand to a brick-and-mortar. Last November, the longtime Tucson hot dog stand Brucedog took the plunge and opened up shop in a strip mall at 5975 W. Western Circle Way, off West 36th Street. That was around the same time that Cuppa Gogo went from its candy-apple-red mobile operation to a storefront at 4877 E. Speedway.
Last year, the Mexican food truck El Antojo Poblano made the transition in February into a west-side location at 1108 W. St. Mary’s Road followed in the spring by The Coop, which spun off from the food truck Cowpig and settled into American Eat Co. at 1439 S. Fourth Ave.
Tucson has a solid track record of successful restaurants born from food trucks, including the grandaddy of them all, Eegee’s, which started as a cart in 1971 and is now a chain of nearly 30 locations in Tucson and the Phoenix area. Serial Grillers, which opened its first brick-and-mortar in fall 2013, now has four locations, as well as the Detroit-style pizzeria Transplant next door to its taproom, Craft, A Modern Drinkery, both on East Speedway.
