Homegrown Burritos for Sale

Around lunchtime Monday, Walter Stewart's Market was the place to be. The grocery store hosted the first official sampling of Red's All Natural burritos, 11-oz burritos born from the recipe and ambition of two New Canaan High School alums.

Founder and CEO Mike Adair came up with the idea for the company about a year ago while he was enjoying one of his wife's turkey burritos.  1997 NCHS grads Adair and his wife Paige were living in New Hampshire while Paige attended nursing school at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Adair was enrolled in the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Adair had been in sales for six years before going to business school, which required a lot of traveling, he said. "I would come home and open my freezer, looking for something big and tasty, yet healthy and filling—and I struggled to find that for years," Adair said.

His wife's recipe turned out to be the solution to that problem and then Adair decided to combine his love for the burritos with his entrepreneurial spirit and start a company.

"When I was in an entrepreneur class, I married the two ideas," Adair said.

The other employees of the four-person company are Chris Schaffer—the chef (and also a '97 NCHS alum), Mary Woodka—Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Rob Marschalk—the intern. Despite the job titles, all four do a little bit of everything from manufacturing to sales to taking out the garbage.

Paige, who is pursuing a career in nursing and raising their five-month old baby, is tasked with providing emotional support and feedback to the employees.

"I've been happily tasting and cheering them on when they're really stressed out," she said.

Friday, July 31, was the first day of production. The team picked up 3,000 burritos and brought them to their warehouse in New Haven, CT, to store them until they are sold.

Friday was also the first time that they got to try the burritos. And they were good.

"I thought there would be a real big difference—I think I'm probably not alone in thinking there's a negative perception in the difference in quality from when it's made at home and when it's made on a larger scale—but we were able to find a production partner who makes it as good as any kind my wife has ever made," Adair said. "I know she'll probably balk at that statement, but they make a phenomenal product."

Production partner Frank Casciari sources the ingredients from the high-end farms throughout New Jersey and New York.

Paige said that she was happily surprised with how the burritos tasted. "I was nervous, but I am very pleased with how they came out," she said.

Between midday Saturday and Tuesday morning they had already sold about 140 burritos at Walter Stewart's, about half of those at the Monday tasting alone.

Things just got a little bit more exciting as of Monday, Adair said. "Now we're able to meet with retailers and try to get on their shelves as many burritos as we can," he said.

Right now, the goal for the company is to get the burritos into stores in southern Connecticut.

"We hope we can make this work so we never have to get real jobs," Adair said.  
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The Taste Test

Red's All Natural burritos are available in three flavors—Turkey Molé, Turkey and Chicken.

I found the chicken moist and it had a great consistency because the chicken is shredded. The herbs and spices in the chicken burrito give it the most prominent flavor of the three, and I could especially discern the corn and beans.

Both the turkey and the turkey molé are made with ground turkey. The flavor of the cilantro and onion comes through strongly in the turkey burrito. The turkey molé is the mildest and sweetest of the three.  

None of the burritos were salty, adding homemade authenticity. I was shocked by how well the tortilla held up; though a bit chewy, it supported the hearty filling without being stiff. I could taste all of the vegetables, which did not have the appearance of having been frozen.

I added Mexican hot sauce because I like a little kick, and these would be complemented by the addition of salsa, sour cream or guacamole as well.

Both Mike and Paige Adair say their favorite flavor is the chicken. Woodka's favorite is the turkey molé. Schaffer's favorite is the turkey.

Adair suggested putting some in the fridge in the morning so that they are thawed by dinnertime and can be grilled. Just take them out of the package, wrap them with aluminum foil and grill for about 12 minutes. Or, take them straight from the freezer and thaw them in the microwave for a few minutes before grilling.

You can find Red's All Natural burritos at Walter Stewart's Market for $5.50 apiece.