Fresno restaurant swamped with business after viral Anaconda burrito video
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A burrito made here in the Central Valley is breaking the Internet while satisfying cravings up and down the state. And the demand for the "Anaconda Burrito" is so high, owners of the Fresno shop that sells it have had to bring in more people to help in the kitchen.
At Taqueria Yarelis there's no end to the lunchtime rush. Nearly everyone we met up with at the downtown Fresno restaurant was there for the internet-breaking burrito known as "The Anaconda."
It's an item that's been on the menu for a year but is just now gaining popularity after the restaurant posted a video on their Facebook page and after about a week online, more than 17 million people have watched it.
"I just seen it on the Facebook page, on the news and decided to come out," Vychai Sok of Fresno said.
A long line outside means plenty of work inside the kitchen. Their small, family-run operation has since had to expand due to their newfound fame and, over the weekend, they hired three more people to handle the rush.
"People from out of town, Los Angeles, San Diego," owner Edwin Espinoza said. "They say they've never come to Fresno but they've come become of the Anaconda Burrito."
The Anaconda comes with all the fixings of burritos you can get anywhere else but is so big they use five tortillas.
"It takes us two days to eat it we have a family and we get full with the burrito," Stephanie Ruiz of Fresno said.
But a bigger following translates to a need for more ingredients.
"It was only 80 pounds of asada a day," Espinoza said. "Now it's 300 pounds for just asada."
The man behind the Anaconda is just one of three who are trained to make it and can wrap one up in just a minute.
