Paul Altero has been working in restaurants since he was 9 years old, and for the past 13 years he and business partner Bill Hart have been running Bubbakoo’s Burritos, a fast-casual chain based on the Jersey shore serving burritos and related items with a wide variety of proteins, such as Buffalo chicken and hibachi steak & shrimp.

Bubbakoo’s growth actually accelerated during the pandemic, in part, according to Altero, because full-service operators were looking for business opportunities that didn’t depend on open dining rooms and contacted him about opening franchises.

In this video, Altero shares his own background, how he met Hart when they both worked for casual-dining chain Johnny Rockets, and the keys to Bubbakoo’s success during the pandemic. Those include streamlining the takeout and delivery process, launching a virtual brand called Tossem Wing Factory, and simply being lucky enough to already have the service style that fit customers’ changing needs.