Richie Mataafa knows burritos, specifically those of his hometown of San Diego.
“There’s nostalgia in our burritos. I grew up in southern California, Oceanside specifically, and our burritos were different,” he said. “We didn’t have rice and black beans in ours. It was French fries. Those SoCal burritos have such a hold on the culture. They’re so well known and it’s one of those things that natives of SoCal can get nostalgic over.”
Richie’s Dad is Samoan, his mom is Mexican and both cultures have a strong love of food of their respective hometowns and countries. Indeed, many of us can step back in time with a single bite of that special something that is unique to our own hometown. When Richie set his roots down in Greenville as a trainer at Iron Tribe gym, those SoCal burritos were something he dearly missed.
“Growing up, I spent time bussing tables at this little Mexican diner. Eventually I landed in Alabama playing football for a D-2 school and that started my journey as a personal trainer,” he said. “I found part-time employment at this cool studio and café in Muscle Shoals (Alabama), and this kitchen was staffed by guys that were very serious about their career and their food, and our dining room had this energy to it and we had people visit from all over the world. That was a memorable experience that reminded me how important food could be.”
After a hiatus to St. Louis for another degree, Richie returned to Greenville and started throwing private dinners in his backyard. SoCal burritos were the star.
“The guys at Iron Tribe asked me if I would do a private event, and that went well enough that I started thinking about doing popups. I needed the right tortillas and found beautiful Sonoran-style tortillas from Tortilla Familia. They’re the best flour tortilla one can buy, they’re thin, delicate almost, but also able to stand up to our burrito. I started making burritos and just bringing them to different restaurants,” he said.
“I was already buying chorizo from Revival and Jeremy invited me to do a popup there. (For) our third one, word had gotten out through social media and we had a line out the door before we even opened. And I had forgotten the potato tots at home so Lindsey, my wife, ran to her car and probably ran through a few red lights to get the potatoes back in time because what’s a SoCal burrito without the fried potatoes?”
Richie’s popups offer incredible burritos with a mini festival atmosphere for one’s Saturday morning breakfast.
“The best part of what I do is when a customer says our burrito reminds them of their San Diego childhood. That makes it all worthwhile.”
Daylight Burrito serves two days a week at the Rupert Huse Veteran Center and hosts popups across town.
“City Juice” is a colloquial term for a glass of tap water served at a diner. John Malik is a restaurant coach and hospitality consultant. He can be reached at chefjohnmalik@gmail.com.
