With half a dozen Mexican restaurants already in business and another in the process of rebuilding its burned-down former home, it’s a matter of contention whether New Paltz actually needed one more. But a young man named Hamin Patel — known to all as Harry — is staking his claim on a new franchise of a very popular national chain of Mexican-fusion eateries, Bubbakoo’s Burritos. The new restaurant opened its doors on September 9 in the space that once housed Just-a-Buck, at 260 Main Street in the ShopRite Plaza.
Harry Patel grew up in Monroe; his father Andy ran a convenience store in the area for 20 years. “I grew up working with my parents in their stores. I’ve always been behind a counter,” he says. “I absolutely knew nothing about food.” When he went away to college at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, it was to pursue a BS in Finance and Real Estate. But outings with his college buddies to fuel their studies with fast food sent him down a different path.
“There was a Bubbakoo’s, and that’s how I found them,” he explains. “They started off in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, on the Jersey Shore… Now there are 120 of them across the country, mainly in the Northeast.” The décor of the stores reflects the chain’s origins in a youthful surfing community, with images of surfboards and skateboards on the walls, three giant flatscreen TVs showing viral YouTube videos nonstop and neon-green accents popping against a black and grey paint scheme.
Patel became intrigued with the franchise model. “I went to eat there; I liked the food. Later I met with the owners.” He enlisted his family’s support, took a crash course in how to run a Bubbakoo’s and, soon after graduating in 2018, got to work establishing a series of franchises in the mid-Hudson region. “We opened one in New Windsor in 2020, and another in Monroe shortly after, and then one in Poughkeepsie in 2021,” he says. “We look for neighborhoods where we can be involved in the community.”
As the franchisee, Harry says that he makes regular rounds of the four stores, but he’s quick to praise another (unrelated) Patel, Jay, the manager and “face of the store” in New Paltz. “He has 25 years in food service. He used to manage a Dunkin.”
So, what’s the food like at a Bubbakoo’s? There’s no question that this is casual, Americanized Mexican fast food, but it’s a quantum leap beyond Taco Bell. Everything is prepared fresh to order, on a “build-your-own” model. For an entrée, first you choose the type: burrito, tacos, tostada salad, quesadilla, nachos or the franchise’s signature dish: a Mexican fried rice bowl dubbed a Chiwawa. The second step is choosing the protein from among three styles of chicken, ground beef, carnitas, barbacoa, hibachi steak or shrimp, veggie patty, fried cauliflower or vegetarian. Next, you pick your toppings, add-ons like guacamole and cheese, and flavors – the latter on a three-tiered spiciness scale. “Everything on the menu is customizable,” Harry says. “We’re always doing promotions and specials.”
Half a dozen entrée specials are featured at any given time, referred to as Popular Creations. We tried two of these: a hibachi steak and shrimp burrito — “our most popular item,” according to Harry — and the crispy chicken bacon quesadilla. The latter came with a sriracha ranch sauce rated “kinda spicy,” which did have a kick. We also sampled a couple of the sides: deep-fried cauliflower bites and curly fries with a zesty dusting of Old Bay seasoning. Dessert was a deep-fried Oreo, here known as a Love Chip. Everything was fresh, hot and tasty, and we predict that some SUNY New Paltz students will be coming here just for the fries.
Catering is a specialty of Bubbakoo’s, with packages available that serve anywhere from 12 to 50 people. “We cater to doctors’ offices, birthday parties, office holiday parties,” Harry Patel says. “And we do a lot of fundraisers.”
Bubbakoo’s Burritos in New Paltz is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. To view the menu or place an order for pickup, visit https://order.thanx.com/bubbakoosburritos. There’s also an app you can download, and local delivery can be arranged via Grubhub, DoorDash or Uber Eats.
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