HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The saying goes that the best way to a person’s heart is through his stomach, but for the folks at Bandito Burrito, the food is just a welcome bonus.
Bandito was opened in 1990. With its simple menu and eclectic decor, more than 30 years later, its status as an Alabama staple has been solidified.
“There’s no other place like it in town, and it’s just that cheap hole-in-the-wall grub,” kitchen manager Travis Thompson said.
The quirky space invites all types to come and dine together, welcoming all equally.
“We’re all kind of a little misfits and a little different. You know, we were just accepted,” employee Kelwyn Levie said.
That’s thanks to the environment created by founder, Oscar Gutierrez. He opened Bandito after a career in the food industry, much of that time before becoming a business owner at El Palacio. Oscar’s daughter, Heather Gutierrez, said he loved cooking. The family was originally from Southern California, and when Oscar moved to Huntsville, he brought the home recipes with him to Bandito Burrito.
“I remember him telling us as a family that we’re all going to have to help get it going. We were up here all the time! I think I was probably about 13 or so at the time,” Heather said. “He just loved people.”
It’s been one year since Oscar died. He left the business to his family.
“I like being here because I feel him here, you know?” Heather said.
She describes the shop as being an extension of her dad, both stylistically and through its energy. Heather said her dad worked every day, often sitting on the front porch or at the same table inside, talking away to those who came by.
“He was really good at remembering people and connecting with them in any way,” she said. “Being a small restaurant, there’s not a lot of seating. He would force people to sit with each other that maybe wouldn’t have before. He would just tell them, ‘go do it!’ You might have a judge sitting with a criminal some days, who knows!”
Not only did he give all customers a fair shake, but job applicants, too.
“I was on work release in the ’90s, for about a year and a half. He had me working at all three of his locations,” Levie said. “He was just always there for me. And, you know, that’s why I’m still here.”
Like Levie, many people who worked for him have a lasting loyalty to the place because of the way Oscar treated them.
“I don’t know why he decided that he needed to take in all of his lost children, but he did, and I am so thankful every day for that,” former employee Michelle Novosel said. “He really, truly created a family in the workplace. And I think that that’s his legacy, as far as I’m concerned, really lies.”
Novosel now owns a business of her own, located right across the street from Bandito, at campus 805. It’s called Pizzelle’s. Confections. She said she tries to mirror Oscar’s management style for her own work family.
“He taught me how to run a business, how to manage employees, how to treat people in general,” she said.
Heather said her dad was always willing to share his life lessons with others. The biggest one:
“I remember him saying, ‘it doesn’t matter what you do, why not be the best at it?’”
That work ethic has been passed down now for three generations. Grandchildren Jake and Hayden Mills are the latest to work at Bandito.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, right? It’s just great. Being around these people, I mean, it’s just one big family,” Jake said.
Heather’s two sisters and their mother still work at the restaurant too, although Mrs. Gutierrez plans to retire this year. Heather has another job, but she helps out as needed.
“[Oscar] told me and [Jake] several times, ‘ it’s going to be yours one day, you’ve got to keep it going,” Hayden said.
Until the grandkids are ready to take over, Heather, her sisters and the rest of Oscar’s big family, both blood and chosen, will continue carrying on his legacy of kindness and good grub.
“He wanted to create something that he could leave behind for everyone to, to have. And so we want the same thing,” Heather said.
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