WITH VIDEO, above, filed by Port Townsend-based multimedia journalist and videographer Jack Olmsted (j_olmsted@yahoo.com).
PORT TOWNSEND — The name of the new Necesito Burrito can be interpreted two ways, according to one of the restaurant’s co-owners.
“The literal translation is ‘burritos are necessary,’” said Sam Force.
“But in slang, it translates to ‘I need a burrito.’”
It’s been two years since Force and his partner, Jesse Rose, determined that downtown Port Townsend needed a specialty burrito shop where meals are made to each customer’s specifications.
They were unable to get the idea off the ground until Force casually mentioned the idea to Upstage Restaurant and Bistro owner Mark Cole, who had opened a deli that hadn’t done as well as he had hoped.
Cole was re-evaluating the basement-level restaurant at 940 Water St. when he heard Force’s idea and thought it would be a natural fit.
“I opened the deli because I wanted to capture the space and provide a place where people could get local food downtown,” Cole said.
“But the tourists didn’t come in for the local food, so I planned to close up for a few months and try something else.”
Cole remains the lease holder, and the restaurant’s legal name is “The Upstage’s Downtown Deli presents Necesito Burrito,” suggesting that the venture will continue to evolve.
Part of the plan is to “cross-pollinate” the two restaurants by offering Upstage customers the ability to order a burrito or deli customers to call out for an Upstage pizza.
Following a model that has been popular and successful in other towns, Necesito Burrito prepares each burrito to order, allowing the customer to have as many or as few ingredients as desired.
The burritos range from $5.49 for the Plain Jane to $12.49 for the Phatty, with a choice of meat.
The restaurant’s specialities, which use fresh, local ingredients, are three varieties of mole sauce and four different salsas, from the expected to the exotic, Force said.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, which Force said fills the need for late-night economical dining.
“Port Townsend has a lot of great restaurants that cost more than what a lot of people can afford,” Force said.
“For $10, someone can get a burrito and a drink,” he added.
“You can’t find a good meal for that price.”
Force hopes that people will come in at all hours and hang out, an idea that has worked very well for the neighboring Undertown coffee shop.
Along with the Undertown, The Upstage and the PT Cyclery bike shop, Force and Cole hope to create a “pass-through” area that attracts tourists and locals alike.
“We want to create a social experience that will draw people away from Water Street and into something new,” Force said.
“It will be a community place where people gather, which is what taquerias are in Mexico.”
The space is underground and has no windows, so the eccentric decorations include two fish tanks, a projection TV and a shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in an alcove, built by Force.
“We want to offer the food that people want at the time they need it in an atmosphere where they feel comfortable,” Force said.
“They can come in for a burrito and then grab a beer and sit down and watch the game in an atmosphere that is like everyone’s living room.”
For more information, phone Necesito Burrito at 360-385-6959.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
