Bueno Y Sano opened in Amherst Massachusetts on January 22 of 1995 and was founded by a University of Massachusetts alum, class of 1993, named 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 the company is to “make people happy”. The company now has three locations, Amherst MA, Northampton MA, and the newest in Burlington VT.

Bob Lowry, who still owns and runs the 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 called “Antonio’s Pizza”. He thought that a burrito shop would appeal to the student market in Amherst that he had just recently been a part of.

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

Bueno Y Sano is still located in its original space. The restaurant expanded in 1996 and was remodeled in 1999.

After a unsuccessful attempt to expand to Boston the company opened a second store in Northampton, MA in the former “Cha Cha Cha!”. This second location opened on December 9th of 2006 and was an immediate success.

Bobs brother Will opened a new Bueno Y Sano in Burlington, VT in September of 2007! Now the people of northern Vermont can enjoy burritos, tacos and quesadillas from Bueno Y Sano.

The restaurants are staffed largely by a family from El Salvador. In May of 1995 Bob hired a woman named Florentina Ayala, or “Tia Tina” as she is called by her friends and family. Soon her son Rolando and several of her family members were working at Bueno Y Sano. The exceptional food served by Bueno Y Sano is the result of the work done by Tina and her family.