Under new CEO, Cafe Rio gets back to basics
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A man reading the menu at Cafe Rio. Photo: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
After years of negative online reviews of Cafe Rio, its new CEO tells Axios he is listening to customers and "going back to the drawing board" to restore their trust.
Why it matters: The fast-casual chain, founded in St. George in 1997, is synonymous with Utah culture. It acknowledges that it strayed from its original recipes and customer favorites.
Context: The company tweaked its recipes during the COVID-19 pandemic as fewer people dined in so the food could travel better for take-out, says Mike Burns, who became the company's CEO this summer.
- It also expanded rapidly after being acquired by investors in 2004. Today, it has more than 150 locations — mostly in the West.
Yes, but: As customers returned to the restaurant, they noticed changes to the food, Burns tells Axios.
- "When I got here, I was like, 'Guys, we need to look at what's changed,'" he says, adding that the easiest thing to do was to go back to what they did before.
- "We're not reinventing Cafe Rio. We're just going back to our roots and doing what we did for so long," Burns says.
What they're saying: Online reviews cite inconsistent food quality, smaller portions and higher prices.
- "I was a Cafe Rio-stan for years. But I just can't anymore," a Reddit user said last year.
- "People still eat at Cafe Rio?" another said.
State of play: Known for its staple sweet pork barbacoa, the company recently enlisted a food scientist to re-create the dish's original recipe while reviving other customer favorites, like its medium Hatch green chile salsa and cilantro lime vinaigrette. It's now available in stores.
- It also recently launched a value menu under $10, featuring a smaller version of its famous salad.
Kim's thought bubble: Since moving to Utah in 2006, I've been a Cafe Rio fan for its made-from-scratch recipes, and have definitely noticed the restaurant's improved quality and consistency.