By Julianna Parker
The Norman Transcript

A burrito restaurant that’s already taken Texas by storm will open its first Oklahoma location in Norman 11 a.m. Monday.

Freebirds World Burrito, which began in College Station in 1989 and has 19 restaurants, will open a location on Campus Corner, 746 Asp Ave., serving customized burritos, salads, tacos, quesadillas and nachos.

Normanites have shown a lot of interest in the new restaurant, coming by during construction asking when it will open, said Alan Hixon, Freebirds chief operating officer.

“I think there’s a fair amount of people out there who are familiar with the concept from our other sites,” he said.

To kick off its Norman location, Freebirds is offering big promotions on opening day. Freebirds will give the first 10 people in line free burritos for a full year. The next 100 people in line will receive their first burrito for free and a Freebirds T-shirt that says “We’re Giving Norman the Bird.”

Also, everyone who makes a purchase on opening day will have the opportunity to play Freebirds Dice Game for a chance to win their meal. Area radio stations will be announcing Freebirds van sightings for the opportunity to win free T-shirts and burritos.

Freebirds, which was purchased by a larger restaurant company in July, is looking to expand throughout the region, Hixon said.

“We’re more aggressive in our growth and we’re in a position to do bigger things,” he said.

Norman was chosen as the best place for the first Oklahoma location.

“It’s the closest, moving up I-35,” he said. “But it’s a neat town, similar to a lot of the same characteristics of other cities we’ve been in.”

The Norman Freebirds location will sport the elements Freebirds is known for, but also will have a few distinct features.

“Every new store is kind of a new canvas that we can paint,” Hixon said.

The outdoor sign will be unique to Norman, featuring a custom Harley Davidson motorcycle sporting a Captain America paint job straddling the Freebirds logo with the signature backwards F set in the rear tire — all suspended on a 20-foot pole.

Freebirds hours are 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit www.freebirds.com.
Julianna Parker
366-3541
jparker@normantranscript.com

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