Dank Burrito, the chef-driven, North Carolina-based, anything-but-Tex-Mex concept, is getting ready to make its area debut in Rock Hill at 343 Technology Center Way, Suite 108.
The newest location will open near the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center in early January 2024, according to a press release. Franchise owner Justin Miller plans to open a 3,300-square-foot eatery with 75 seats inside and another 25-30 outside. Rock Hill is the first of multiple franchise locations Dank Burrito is planning to roll out across the Southeastern United States – specifically the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida – with the long-term goal of expanding the brand further West.
Founder Chef Clarke Merrell, the culinary force behind 81 Hospitality Group, launched the concept in 2014 as a food truck in Morehead City, North Carolina, and eventually named National Food Truck Rookie of the Year. While the food truck still operates around Eastern NC, it led to Dank Burrito’s first brick-and-mortar location in Morehead City a year later. Another site opened in 2019 in Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall. Miller met with Merrell last year to try out the menu, and after tasting everything, he immediately signed the franchise agreement that day.
When the restaurant opens its first location in South Carolina, customers can expect a menu full of popular street food-influenced flavor profiles. Some of the most popular options are the Carne Asada, Pork Belly and Jerk Chicken, as well as an assortment of limited-time offers, such as the Danksgiving Burrito, Cheerwine Beef Quesadilla, Nashville Hot Chicken Burrito, and more. All burritos, bowls, and tacos are made with scratch-made ingredients, such as salsas, slaws, kimchi, and guacamole.
“Dank Burrito is not your typical burrito joint where the same tired flavors are used,” Merrell said in a press release. “We combine our favorite flavors from around the world with fine-dining techniques to make new kinds of flavor-bomb burritos, tacos, and bowls that you’ll fall in love with over and over again.”
