‘Burro Room’ reopens after remodel

COSTA MESA — A popular Mexican food spot known by locals as The “Burro Room” has reopened after undergoing its first major remodeling in nearly 40 years.

The family-owned Mi Casa Mexican Restaurant and Bar on 17th Street made renovations to its bar area last month to accommodate the growing business, said owner Ryan Moore.

The original tables and bar top from 1972 have been replaced, but Moore chose to reupholster the chairs and vinyl booths, rather than opting for new furniture. The restaurant also continued to use the traditional red-brick accents “to celebrate a blend of old and new,” Moore said.

Moore purchased the restaurant in July from his father, Rick Moore, who had inherited it from his father, Barrie Moore, in 2004.

Most of the menu items are still created from original recipes, which have been passed down.

There have also been some new additions to the menu, such as items made with shrimp, and now because of the expanded bar room, they serve draft beer and more than 30 types of tequila.

Although Moore has celebrated many milestones at the restaurant — including taking his first steps as a toddler and dining with buddies and their dates before high school dances— he never planned on taking over the family business.

However, Dad “made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Moore said.

Moore helped his father run the restaurant for a short time period a few years, but it was after Moore and his father no longer worked together that their relationship became stronger.

“When we were both working here, our conversations were 95% about business,” Moore said.

Now, while Moore’s father is still a frequent visitor to Mi Casa, lending advice and visiting with long-time customers, the father-son relationship isn’t bound by business.

Additionally, Moore plans to implement modern business tools and technology to enable him to run a growing business and still spend time outside of it, he said.

“I was fortunate to walk into a situation with a staff and management team that was very talented,” Moore said. “It was simply a matter of empowering them to take over the day-to-day operations.”

Moore said he plans to continue expanding the Mi Casa brand, first by continuing the Mi Casa food company, which distributes bottled salsa, then by opening a second location within a year in southern Orange County.

Moore eventually plans to offer the Mi Casa name to franchise opportunities, he said.

One day, Moore hopes Mi Casa is a nationally recognized brand — something that his grandfather never anticipated when he first swung open the restaurant’s signature blue door in 1972.

“The response I get from long-time customers is, across the board, ‘Your grandfather would be so proud of you,’” Moore said. “It makes me feel really good to hear that. I know he’s up in heaven smiling down at me.”