Award-winning Berryhill Baja Grill provides customers with the casual feel of a small, Mexican eatery.

Based in Houston, Berryhill Baja Grill offers Baja-style food from its 14 locations in Texas and Mexico. Anon says the company was founded on the recipes of Walter Berryhill, who sold his tamales from his pushcart in Houston.

Berryhill, who began his business in 1928, sold his homemade cuisine on street corners in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood, and his food gained popularity through the years. Berryhill retired in the winter of 1960 and shut his business.

A local lawyer, Bob Tarrant, later purchased the rights to Berryhill’s recipes. A fan of the recipes, Tarrant opened Berryhill Tamales and Tacos in 1993.

It was at that restaurant, Anon says, that he first tried the Berryhill cuisine.

Although he felt the restaurant’s service needed improvement, “I was just amazed by the quality of the food,” he remembers. “The food was wonderful.”

Seeing potential, Anon purchased that restaurant, and has since grown Berryhill Baja Grill to 13 locations in Texas and one location in Cancun, Mexico. Each restaurant, he says, averages 4,000 square feet in size and enjoys $2 million in average sales, annually. While Berryhill Baja Grill currently has five company owned locations in Houston and Austin, the remainder of its locations are franchises.

In addition to tamales, its menu features tacos, enchiladas, chimichangas, quesadillas, soups and salads. Although its tamales are still a favorite, its most popular items today are its original fish tacos, Anon says.

The tacos are made with farm-raised catfish. “We were the first [to serve] fish tacos in Texas,” he adds.

Berryhill Baja Grill also caters to health-conscious consumers by serving food trans-fat free. “We have a lot of vegetarian items,” Anon adds, explaining that the restaurants serve veggie tamales and tacos and use olive oil in their recipes.

He explains that Berryhill Baja Grill has stayed successful by serving its food fresh. “Everything’s made from scratch, from soups to desserts to salsas,” he says. “We’re just known for great, quality food.”

Berryhill Baja Grill has been featured in Bon Appétit magazine, Saveur, Food and Wine, The New York Times and twice on the Food Network, Anon notes. In addition, the Houston Press recognized the restaurant for serving the Best Tamale, The Best Fish Taco and The Best Margarita in Houston. The Houston Chronicle also recognized it for Best Tres Leches.

An Experienced Leader
Anon says he grew up in the restaurant business, explaining that his parents were franchisees for Big Boy Restaurants International LLC in Ohio. In addition, he has 20 years’ experience in the deep discount drug industry.

Previously, Anon founded Texas Drug Distributors Inc. and is also a board member of Nortex Drug Distributors Inc. In addition, he is CEO of Discount Amenities, a distributor of amenities to health and country clubs.

Berryhill customers “are still always looking for good quality at a decent price,” he says, noting that the restaurants strive to offer consistency of both food and service and a relaxed atmosphere.

“You want the customer to walk in and feel comfortable,” he says, adding that its restaurants have frequent regulars. “It’s almost like ‘Cheers’ in our restaurants. [We] know them all by name.”

Speaking Volumes
A testament to the quality of Berryhill Baja Grill, Anon says, was the reaction of its Cancun franchisee, Rafael Aguirre, to its food. “He’s probably the largest restaurateur in Cancun,” Anon says, noting that Aguirre is a franchisee for such concepts as Outback Steakhouse, Margaritaville, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Restaurants Inc. and Pat O’Brien’s.

“He just happened to go into one of our restaurants in Houston and fell in love with it,” Anon says. Afterward, Aguirre approached Anon about becoming a Berryhill Baja Grill franchisee in Cancun.

When Anon raised the point that Mexican food is already available in Cancun, “He said, ‘Well, no, we don’t have Mexican food this good in Cancun,’” Anon recalls. “That speaks volumes to our quality.”

As it grows, Anon says, Berryhill Baja Grill will be opening new locations in Tampa, Fla., and Pinehurst, N.C. In addition, the company will open an additional location in Cancun, as well as in Puerto Vallarta and Playa del Carmen, Mexico, which will also be operated by Aguirre.

When recruiting franchisees, “We’re looking for somebody with multi-unit experience,” Anon says. “We’ve got a lot of people that are [talking] with us now.”