Maybe I was out of town too much this Summer, but I just saw tonight that Baja Fresh in Glenwood Avenue’s Townridge Shopping Center has long-since closed. This is an important event because locally-owned Salsa Fresh, a Baja Fresh rip-off, has officially now stood its ground and survived Wendy’s burrito concept restaurant being right around the corner. A little bit of research reveals that Wendy’s decided earlier this year to close 15-18 stores in the underperforming chain. link 1 link 2
While Baja Fresh doesn’t quite rank up with El Pollo Asado in the "most missed restaurants" category, I will miss those fish tacos while I ponder the reasons Highway 70 has become a restaurant cemetery.
How dare you call Salsa Fresh a Baja Fresh ripoff. Baja Fresh has all the feel of a cold, crummy service chain; Salsa Fresh has all the feel of a neighborhood burrito joint. Every time I was in BF, they were doing some kind of repair to some machine or issuing “sorry you had to wait so long” coupons. SF has never disappointed, even on a weekend night. “New Salsa” at SF is the greatest freshly-prepared salsa you can buy!
The slogans “no cans”, “no freezers”, “no lard”, “no microwaves” that used to be on Salsa Fresh’s walls were distictly from Baja Fresh. Those cute slogans noticably disappeared from Salsa Fresh’s walls in 2002 when Baja Fresh opened around the corner.
I recently moved here from southern CA and was so excited when a local Raleighite told me there was a Baja Fresh here, only to find out is has been closed.
It is probably my most missed place to eat now that I live here (that and TriTip which doesn’t seem to exist here). I will try Salsa Fresh, but in CA they were never as good. I never been to Baja Fresh without a line, I can’t imagine why it didn’t make it.
A little birdy shared with me that the owner of Salsa Fresh and the owner of Baja Fresh used to be in cahoots and work together, but then there was a disagreement. That’s why they were so similar. The Salsa Fresh folks moved in on NC first – and thank god they did. Baja Fresh wasn’t so fresh.
Chipotle is there now, and it’s much better than Baja Fresh ever was.
I never cared for Baja Fresh. It seemed like a weak ripoff of other, better restaurants. Salsa Fresh was pretty good, but I don’t live out there anymore, so I never make it.
I just thank my lucky stars every day for Baja Burrito being within short driving distance. Locally owned with friendly staff and delicious, fresh ingredients, I was lucky to find this place tucked away in Mission Vally while I was still in college. A Baja Burrito is gauranteed to be a deliciously messy meal, and while I won’t shed a tear over Baja Fresh, I would weep like a baby should Baja Burrito close its doors.
^ Bryant – Chipolte Mexican Grill took the Baja Fresh space and is definitely a HUGE improvement. If it is not too far out of your way, I would say give it a shot. Chipolte quickly went to the top of my “counter-service” type burrito choices.
I agree on Baja Fresh.
In August I posted my thoughts on Chipotle. Those Carnitas crunchy tacos are phenomenal.
http://www.raleighing.com/2006/08/restaurant_revi_1.html
Related to Salsa Fresh, there is a new location as of mid-December in Morrisville at the corner of Davis & Morrisville Carpenter (Near the soon to open Smithfield’s Chicken & BBQ). It’s certainly the largest of the Salsa Fresh chain (3 stores?), same basic design brown instead of white inside.
I had no idea there was going to be one there until it opened. Salsa Fresh apparently has no website so info is hard to find about them.
Living in Apex myself I’m glad to have a closer option other than the Qdoba.
Baja Fresh’s service sucked. But their food rocked. Chipotle is just another chain (McDonald’s owned). Chipotle’s food is not as fresh or as tasty as Baja Fresh’s will ever be. Baja Fresh went away mainly due to their high cost of daily operations. If you are another franchise, (chipotle), who can freeze and CAN all of its ingredients to make its shelf life years instead of days, you can weather the storm a lot easier. Its location sucked too. Too difficult to get in and get out of that plaza. I am glad that Salsa Fresh is still there! At least there is still some fresh mexican food in the area.
Baja Fresh is a subsidiary of Wendy’s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baja_Fresh
Actually, McDonald’s gave Chipotle a lot of money several years ago, but was extremely hands-off when it came to management and operations. McD’s just wanted to jump on the Fresh Mex train, but didn’t want to, and could not, run another company. Today they have no relationship.
Chipotle got to take advantage of McDonald’s unsurpassed food distribution network–not the foods themselves, ’cause they don’t share any, but the logistics. That has allowed Chipotle to expand more rapidly than it would’ve been able to without that advantage.
Chipotle actually cans or freezes nothing. The kitchens make rice and beans multiple times each day, chops and blends salsas, marinates and cooks all the meats–all on site. The food is really quite good, and we are super-picky about Mexican.
And the company’s use of organic and naturally raised ingredients–not exclusively, but they’re adding products methodically–is something you’ll see few other chains doing. In fact, Chipotle gets its pork from the Niman Ranch Cooperative, which has a farm or two in Eastern NC. Chipotle is actually showing other fast-food chains that YES, you can serve healthy, freshly made foods made from high quality, sustainable ingredients. I’m all about that. Naturally raised pork? Organic black beans? rGBH-free sour cream? In a meal that costs $6? Hallelujah.
The way I see it, the more fresh Mexican and Southwestern choices around here, the better. Mmmmmmmmmm.
And, yes, Baja Fresh is Wendy’s, but not for long (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/06/ap3400521.html).
Okay, taking off my Chipotle cheerleader uniform now…I just wanted to say they’re not the typical fast-food chain, though not perfect, and that some of their policies are commendable.
- L
Baja Fresh was a Wendy’s owned chain. they sold them in November after struggling with profits and identity in the fast food market. the company that bought BF is now in the process of seeking franchaisees for the US as they need to grow to survive.