I went to Illegal Pete’s at 12
o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and was treated to a nice crowd packed inside the
restaurant due to the miserable weather that day. I ordered some chips and
salsa to keep me company during the next hour of observations. The staff as
well as many of the customers were one the younger side of the age spectrum, in
my opinion, due to the close proximity to the University of Denver, and because
of this I felt that the atmosphere and the restaurant itself were catering to
the needs of the customers they are use to seeing on a regular basis. With
popular music playing throughout the restaurant as well as sports on any and
every television, the restaurant exuded an almost barish feel to it. This is
understandable because Pete’s has a bar which, in my opinion, seems to be
serving alcohol at any and every time of the day.
Another point I wanted to bring up
was the accessibility and or efficiency of the way the restaurant is set up and
run. With the customer having the ability to see all the ingredients behind a
glass shield and their specific taco or burrito being made from start to
finish, the process is very quick and easy, and leaves the customer satisfied,
having the finish product being the exact combination that they ordered and saw
made. While all of the ingredients are already prepared and presented in front
of you behind the glass shield, the difference between Pete’s and a Subway is
in the quality and or freshness of the ingredients, not necessarily the way in
which the ingredients are displayed. Although you may get your food as fast, if
not faster than at a fast food restaurant, the quality will never be
compromised and the customer will always be satisfied.
This idea of restaurant efficiency
really interested me, and so after leaving Illegal Pete’s I looked around
campus for other restaurants that used this same fast-service food technique.
What I found was that Chipotle about a block down the street has basically the
exact same ordering process, “Distinguishing
features include non-standardized layouts, unique décor, an open-view kitchen,
and an ordering process in which the customers can see the food being
assembled.”(1) The advantage for the customer, like I pointed out earlier, in
being able to see your food prepared and all of the ingredients going into this
amalgamation, is that in the end of the transaction the customer is getting
exactly what they ordered and the quality of the ingredients is visible to the
customer before the chose to put it into their meal or not to. Both Chipotle
and Illegal Pete’s are Mexican grills that service mostly college students, and
in my opinion because of the proximity to the University of Denver and the
youthful, fast moving culture, the unique efficient layout of each restaurant
allows many different people to eat their meals in many different ways.
What I mean when I say the restaurant “allows many different people to
eat many different ways” is that no matter how a person wants to treat their
specific meal at Pete’s or Chipotle that day, either getting it to go and
eating it in class or at work, while on the go, sitting alone studying in the
restaurant, conversing with your friends sitting at a table, having a drink at
the bar watching the game, the point I am trying to make is that the accessibility
and or utility of the food being produced at these restaurants is absurdly
versatile. While sitting at a table observing other people’s meals, I wanted to
see what the utility of the food they were eating was for that specific person.
For some, the utility of the burrito is that it holds well on the go and can be
eaten while multitasking due to the fact that all the ingredients are neatly
wrapped up in a massive tortilla, for some the meal is used as a way to connect
to the person you are sharing your meal with, and for some it is just for the
pure enjoyment of Illegal Pete and or Chipotle which they can enjoy sitting by
themselves watching television, reading a book or newspaper, doing schoolwork,
the options are limitless.
The utility of the food served at Illegal Pete’s is ridiculously
versatile, able to satisfy each and every customer in an efficient unique way.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is just as adaptable to any situation as the
food is, and because of this Pete’s is not only a place to go to eat, but also
a place to hang out with your friends and relax, giving you the option every
time you walk in their doors to experience something different and unique.
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