Big Ten Burrito opened up in Ann Arbor during my second year in grad school, and they quickly became my top burrito choice in town. They offered appropriately large burritos with pretty high quality fillings, a giant step above Panchero’s, whose one selling point was its close proximity to my department during my first year.
Anyway, Big Ten Burrito had some expansionary dreams– they talked about opening up a burrito shop in every Big Ten college town– which put them afoul of the goliath athletic conference that was the source of their name. Apparently the conference could ignore one piddly little burrito shop, but a potential burrito empire sharing their name was a little too much. Even before any new locations were opened, the conference threatened legal action. The owners of the restaurant contemplated resistance, weighed the cost of the legal fees, and conceded– agreeing to change their name.
The resulting contest, in which Big Ten Burrito asked its customers to contribute new names for the restaurant offered a few winning titles. My favorite– actually the only one I remember– was “Fuck You Big Ten Conference Burrito.” Apparently, this was judged rather impolitic. Ultimately, they decided on the slightly redundant BTB Burrito.
Last time I was in town, about a year ago, I made a point of stopping by the rechristened establishment. The burrito was excellent, as always, but I didn’t give the establishment much more thought until today, when an old friend sent along this news clipping from the venerable Michigan Daily:
The Ann Arbor-based Mexican food chain has rolled out a red “party bus” that runs on vegetable oil and is offering the bus as an eco-friendly taxi. BTB co-owner Adam Lowenstein said converting the bus to run on vegetable oil took about three months and $4,000, but will pay dividends in the long run.
I thought the burritos spoke for themselves, but this still isn’t a bad way to get the name out there. Anyone in Philly want to try this? “All aboard the Geno’s Steak’s Party Wagon. Only English speakers may ride.” Eh, not so much. Probably a little new agey for Joey Vento.
