Flying Burrito Co. Owners Spread Wings, Fly North

Archie Schaffer and Mike Rohrbach both admit they were a little uncertain when they made the decision to go into business for themselves.

But the opening of the third Flying Burrito location in Washington County and plans to open the first Benton County restaurant this summer, all within five years of opening their first Fayetteville location, stands as unquestionable evidence that the duo has a knack for the burrito business.

“We saw an underserved niche in the market and we both had restaurant experience so we decided to give it a try,” Rohrbach said. “We weren’t sure what we were getting ourselves into but six months later we were looking for a second location.”

The chain, which offers custom-built nachos, tacos and burritos, has become a favorite among students and professionals alike. The duo created a menu with price points that allow people to get a main dish, nachos and a drink for $10 or less.

In 2007, the two Fayetteville Flying Burrito restaurants had combined revenue of more than $1.3 million, a 14 percent increase from the locations’ combined 2006 revenue, according to taxes collected by the Fayetteville Advertising and Promotion committee.

The Spring Street location opened in May 2003, followed by the opening of the second, north College Avenue location in 2004. On May 6, the 2,450-SF Springdale location opened in the town’s growing Har-Ber Meadows development and a fourth, Bentonville location is slated to open at the intersection of Arkansas Highway 102 and Walton Boulevard, in the former Blue Plate Café location, in June. The duo also had a drive-thru only location on 6th Street in Fayetteville, but closed it.

Rohrbach said they will look at establishing additional Northwest Arkansas locations in the future, but no definite plans have been set.

They also hope to take their chain outside of the two-county market but movement won’t come for at least another year.

The two have talked about franchising their brand to help the chain grow but haven’t taken the time to establish a model they are comfortable selling.  For now, Rohrbach said, growth will be slow, and location ownership will come from within.

“This is a big learning experience for us,” Rohrbach said. “We don’t want to hand over our business and name over to some doctor who isn’t going to be in the restaurant. We want to be able to work with the owner/operator. We don’t want an owner not caring about their location and hurting our brand.”

As part of their expansion plans, the duo enlisted the expertise of Research Design in Rogers to create a cohesive brand and image to create similar atmospheres at future Flying Burrito locations. 

“We established our colors, red and yellow, and they created wallpaper for us,” Schaffer said. “They gave us a whole bunch of options for our logo but we liked what we originally created so we just sharpened up what we had.”

Schaffer said they wanted to use elements of pop culture to create a fun, relaxed atmosphere for diners.

The Springdale location encompasses the feel and look of the Flying Burrito brand.

Because the Bentonville location was previously a restaurant, Schaffer said, they won’t be able to use all of the design elements of the Springdale restaurant. But diners will know they have stepped into a Flying Burrito.

Schaffer and Rohrbach said they are thrilled with the success of their chain and are still seeking the achieve their ultimate goal, to become “the burrito people of the Northwest Arkansas market.”