California Tortilla facts for kids
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A California Tortilla in Montgomery County, Maryland.
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Trade name
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California Tortilla |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurant Franchising |
| Genre | Fast casual |
| Founded | August 4, 1995 Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Founders | Pam Felix Alan Cohen |
| Headquarters |
Potomac, Maryland
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U.S.
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Number of locations
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39 in U.S. as of Jan 2020; franchised since 2003 |
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Area served
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Key people
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Jennifer Rorie (CEO) Aaron Goldberg (Director) Sara Mahaffey (Director of marketing) |
| Products | Mexican-style food such as Burritos, salads, etc. |
| Services | Catering |
| Revenue | US$99.627 million (2021) |
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Number of employees
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654 (2021) |
California Tortilla, often called Cal Tort, is a popular chain of restaurants in the United States. It serves quick and tasty Mexican-style food. The first California Tortilla opened in August 1995 in Bethesda, Maryland. It was started by two business partners, Pam Felix and Alan Cohen.
Cal Tort's menu is similar to other well-known Mexican-style restaurants. These include places like Baja Fresh and Chipotle Mexican Grill. A typical California Tortilla restaurant is about 2,500 square feet. It usually has enough space for about 75 people to sit and eat.
California Tortilla has won several awards over the years. Readers of Washingtonian magazine voted its burritos as the best in 2009 and 2010. The magazine also named it "best Mexican" in 2014 and 2015. In 2019, Washington City Paper readers chose it as the Best Fast Casual restaurant.
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Where to Find California Tortilla
California Tortilla has many restaurant locations. As of January 2020, there were 39 restaurants across the U.S. Most of these are in the Washington metropolitan area. This includes Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. You can also find them in the District of Columbia. The main office for the company is in Potomac, Maryland.
A Fun Place to Eat
California Tortilla wants its staff to be "unique" and "fun." This means the atmosphere can be a bit different at each location. For 20 years, co-founder Pam Felix wrote a monthly newsletter called Taco Talk. It was available online and in print. Her picture, along with Alan Cohen's, used to be on some of the restaurant's paper items. Pam Felix stopped writing Taco Talk in December 2015.
Special Deals and Promotions
California Tortilla often has fun promotions for its customers. These deals can give you free food or discount coupons. Some promotions are common, like a free taco when you sign up for their email list. Other promotions are quite unique, such as "Free Pop-Tart Day."
In 2008, California Tortilla tried to set a world record. They organized the world's largest rock, paper, scissors game. If you subscribe to their email newsletter, you might get "secret" promotions. They also have a "Burrito Elito" loyalty program. Registered customers earn points for their purchases. When you get 75 points, you receive a $5 discount on your next meal.
Another year-round promotion is the "Monday Night Mystery Prize Burrito Wheel." If you buy an entree on Monday nights after 5:00 p.m., you can spin the wheel. Prizes can be a free cookie or brownie, a dollar off your next purchase, or even a free signature salad.
Celebrating New Restaurants
When a new California Tortilla restaurant opens, they often have a special day. On this day, burritos or bowls cost only $5. The money collected from these special sales is then given to a local charity. This helps support good causes in the community.
