Mad Mex runs out of Gobbleritos brought back as coronavirus comfort food

Mad Mex brought back its renowned Gobblerito on Wednesday to add a bit of comfort to these tumultuous times, but at least one location ran out before the dinner rush.

“We’re working on stocking up for tomorrow,” read a post on the Shadyside location’s Facebook page. “Thank you so much. We cannot tell you how much this means to us and to our staff.”

The Mexican restaurant announced it would bring back the burrito with a cult following to create some good among the unsettledness surrounding the coronavirus outbreak.

“During such uncertain times, when we wake up each day to more bad news, we need warmth, we need love, and we need kindness,” an email from the local chain said. “We need some serious comfort … food. And we’re willing to break our own rules to bring it to you.”

The Thanksgiving dinner-inspired burrito is normally available only in the weeks leading up to the holiday and for one day in April. It will be available for takeout at the Shadyside and Canonsburg locations beginning Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

According to the Facebook page for the Monroeville location, the burrito will be available there beginning Thursday.

“It’s Thanksgiving in a burrito, and now more than ever, we need a little reminder and recognition of how thankful we are to have each other – at a safe minimum of six feet, of course,” the email read.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday pushed for all restaurants to cease dine-in options for at least two weeks. Bill Fuller, president of the Big Burrito Restaurant Group, which includes Mad Mex, said the announcement pushed the stress of running a restaurant to “a crisis level we have never experienced.”

The group also includes Kaya, Casbah, Eleven, Soba, Umi and Alta Via, and Fuller said in an email Tuesday that staff has the opportunity to work this week to deep-clean all establishments.

“Getting the opportunity to really work our way through the restaurants item by item, corner by corner, to rip them apart and get them back to new all at once is cathartic,” he wrote.

In addition to all Mad Mex locations, Kaya (Strip District) and Alta Via (O’Hara) remain open for takeout and delivery. The restaurants are selling beer to go in $10 growler fill-ups from the tap. A growler (a glass jug of usually 64 ounces) may be purchased for $5.

“Of course, the shutdown, the looming possibility of further outbreak, and the uncertainty of life in general still worries us,” Fuller wrote, “but at least we know the spot behind the oven is clean.”