Freebirds World Burrito, commonly called Freebirds, was founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 1987 by Mark Orfalea. Orfalea wanted to design a restaurant similar to El Pollo Loco and deliver menu items to students at Santa Barbara college. After discovering he had leftover chicken, his aunt suggested making them into burritos. The company name comes from a favorite song “Free Birds” by the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The company offers Mexican style cuisine with a wide variety of fresh choices, sauces, and salsas. Restaurant locations are known for their ceilings painted like the sky and motorcycle theme, with the Statue of Liberty crashing through a wall in most locations. Currently, the company has 90 locations, most of them in Texas and California.
Freebirds World Burrito was sold in 2007 to Tavistock Restaurants and operates as a subsidiary of its parent company. The company moved its headquarters in mid-2015 from California to Austin, Texas.
Freebirds World Burrito
Freebirds World Burrito, commonly called Freebirds, was founded in Santa Barbara, California, in 1987 by Mark Orfalea. Orfalea wanted to design a restaurant similar to El Pollo Loco and deliver menu items to students at Santa Barbara college. After discovering he had leftover chicken, his aunt suggested making them into burritos. The company name comes from a favorite song “Free Birds” by the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The company offers Mexican style cuisine with a wide variety of fresh choices, sauces, and salsas. Restaurant locations are known for their ceilings painted like the sky and motorcycle theme, with the Statue of Liberty crashing through a wall in most locations. Currently, the company has 90 locations, most of them in Texas and California.
Freebirds World Burrito was sold in 2007 to Tavistock Restaurants and operates as a subsidiary of its parent company. The company moved its headquarters in mid-2015 from California to Austin, Texas.
History