HISTORY

Bueno Y Sano opened in Amherst, Massachusetts on January 22 of 1995 and was founded by University of Massachusetts alum, class of 1993, Bob Lowry. Bueno Y Sano’s recipes and different menu items are the result of ideas from staff members at the restaurant and some of Bob’s original ideas. The mission of Bueno Y Sano is to “make people happy.” The company now has seven locations: Amherst, Northampton, Springfield, West Springfield, and Acton, MA, and Burlington, as well as South Burlington, VT.

Bob Lowry, who still owns and runs the original company, hatched the idea for Bueno Y Sano after having a burrito at a small restaurant on Nantucket Island. A month later while driving through Amherst on his way to visit friends, Bob spotted a “for rent” sign in the window of a spot next-door to a very popular pizzeria in Amherst, Antonio’s Pizza. He thought that a burrito shop would appeal to the student market in Amherst, of which he had just recently been a part.

Bob called the number on the “for rent” sign. The location next to Antonio’s Pizza was already spoken for, but the owners had another spot that was still available. It was formerly “El Sinbad,” a Middle Eastern eatery on Boltwood Walk. Bob decided to pursue the second location.

Bob began discussing the idea with his father and his friends. He wrote down his ideas and created financial projections with some numbers he had collected from others who had opened restaurants. He also created a survey to find out if people in Amherst were interested in burritos.

Eventually with his business plan in hand, Bob convinced his father to invest $20,000. The restaurant opened on January 22, 1995, just four months after the idea had occurred to Bob that a burrito shop might fly in downtown Amherst. The response was immediate and very positive. The staff often felt like the line of people wanting burritos would never end.