El Burrito serving its final meals today
I’ve got tears in my tacos.
El Burrito, the popular Five Points restaurant, is closing after 16 years in Five Points, serving its last meals on Monday, April 24.
The funky blue building, along with others in the greater part of the 900 block of Harden Street, was sold to investors who plan to redevelop the block. Owner Suzi Sheffield noted on the restaurant’s Facebook that the new owners offered the restaurant the right to re-lease in the project, but Sheffield didn’t say whether the restaurant would come back.
“(W)e are grateful for everyone that has made our place feel like much more than a quirky little blue restaurant with a patio and no sign,” wrote Sheffield, who lives in Atlanta. “Walking into El Burrito on any given day you will see seated at our counter a soccer mom, a punk rocker, a business executive, a blue collar worker, a student and a senior citizen, to name a few.”
The restaurant will celebrate its last days with food and drink specials, prizes, “celebrity shifts” worked by past employees – and on Thursday, April 20, a night of music.
Upcoming food events
Slow Food Columbia’s Sustainable Chef Showcase: Slow Food Columbia has challenged some of the city’s most sustainable chefs to create a dish featuring at least one locally, sustainably produced major ingredient. You get to savor the results from Frank Bradley (Bourbon), Mike Davis (Terra), Wes Fulmer (Motor Supply Co. Bistro), Travis Rayle (Hunter Gatherer), Josh Rogerson (Saluda’s), Bryan Tayara (Rosewood Market & Deli) and Todd Woods (The Oak Table).
4-7 p.m. Sunday, April 23 at City Roots Farm, 1005 Airport Blvd. $25, Slow Food Columbia members; $35, nonmembers. Cash bar with wines and local beers. www.brownpapertickets.com
A Chef’s Feast: Chefs Frank Lee (formerly of S.N.O.B. in Charleston) and Russell Jones (Tallulah) host guest chefs Mimie Holmes (Mimie’s International Cuisine), Ramone Dickerson (2 Fat 2 Fly and Wing City), Teryi Youngblood (Passerelle Bistro in Greenville) and Steven Musolf (Lazy Goat in Greenville) as they create a multicourse meal with wine pairings to benefit the Transitions Homeless Center in Columbia.
6-9 p.m. Sunday, April 23 at Tallulah, 2400 Devine St. $125, dinner only; $175, dinner and VIP reception. (803) 708-4861, ext. 207, or www.eventbrite.com.
Happy birthday to Kaminsky’s! The dessert cafe is celebrating its second anniversary in Columbia. And to prove that the twos aren’t so terrible, they’re running a special during happy hour – $2.50 per slice of cake or pie.
5-7 p.m. Monday, April 24 at Kaminsky’s, 930 Gervais St. www.kaminskys.com
Butcher Paper Dinner Series: Crawfish Boil: It’s a friendly free-for-all as you gather ’round the table and eat directly from the pile of fresh steamed crawfish, corn on the cob, potatoes and other vegetables. Learn the proper way to eat a crawfish before the Rosewood Crawfish Festival in May.
3-7 p.m. Saturday, April 29 at City Roots Farm, 1005 Airport Blvd. $45; cash and credit bar. Crawfish Boil ticketholders receive free entry to the Rosewood Crawfish Festival on Saturday, May 7. www.farmtotableeventco.com
This story was originally published April 19, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "El Burrito serving its final meals today."