Casual Eatery Breaks Traditional Boundaries Of The Humble Burrito STORY BY LAUREN MIRÓ
PHOTOS BY ABNER PEDRAZA
Pyrogrill is a homegrown “fast-casual” restaurant where the boundaries of the burrito are broken, giving customers more choices and a better dining experience. Located in front of the Mall at Wellington Green at 10590 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Pyrogrill is a civic-minded business that not only offers great food, but also aims to serve the community. Owners Michael Curcio and Clark Beaty graduated from the Benjamin School in North Palm Beach and have made Palm Beach County home to Pyrogrill’s headquarters. Curcio, 33, was inspired to open the restaurant by a simple recipe he had grown fond of in college. “I had never cooked anything in my life,” he said. “I was playing basketball for the University of Miami, and when we’d go on road trips we would have catered meals. Often it was yellow rice, chicken and a curry mustard sauce from a particular restaurant. So I decided when I graduated to buy the recipe from the woman who started it.” In 2001, Curcio found an available location in Gainesville and started the restaurant that would become Pyrogrill. At the time, Beaty was studying at the University of Florida for his master’s degree in business administration. “I fell in love with what Mike had put together,” he said. “It has come a long way since then, but what he started out with was an amazing restaurant, and it has evolved into Pyrogrill.”
Grillworks, the original restaurant, became Pyrogrill after a few kitchen mishaps. “I had no restaurant experience,” Curcio said. “We were all winging it. We lit the kitchen on fire five times the first week. So we went to trademark Grillworks. Someone else already had it, so we decided Pyrogrill was a pretty apropos name.” In 2003, Curcio opened Pyrogrill’s original location in Abacoa, expanding two years ago to Wellington. Beaty joined Curcio in the business last year. “And we have not lit the kitchen on fire in over eight years,” Curcio promised. Pyrogrill boasts a “locally organic” business model, Beaty said. “We’re trying to immerse ourselves in the Wellington community as best we can,” he said. “We’ve done that largely through schools. We wanted to help the local schools and, through that, help the local community to grow and excel.” Beaty hopes the restaurant’s presence in the community will serve as a foothold from which it can expand. “We believe you have to perfect everything
in the four walls and then expand out,” he said. The restaurant is decorated with vibrant red, orange and yellow walls that scream “fire” even when there’s none to be found. Much of the building materials are eco-friendly, from reclaimed wood to low voltage lights and polished concrete. Even the food containers are made from biodegradable material. There’s free WiFi, student discounts after 2 p.m., and free kids’ meals on Wednesday and Sunday. But what really draws people in is the food. “We’re starting to pick up momentum and gain a loyal following,” Curcio said. The food started with a simple question. “I love burritos,” Curcio said. “But I thought, ‘do they always have to be Mexican-style burritos?’” Instead, Pyrogrill turns burritos into a style of eating by letting customers choose the ingredients. “We sell burritos, rice bowls and tacos, but we’re not exclusively Mexican,” Curcio said. “You have choice here.” WELLINGTON THE MAGAZINE • JUNE 2010
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