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Cary Klein: Making it big in the Pittsburgh Dining Scene Visit our website to learn more
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Leggett Kitchens
W
hile lucky Pittsburgh diners are savoring their Kristy’s Big Sister’s Red Velvet Burritos at Mad Mex, slurping their Thai Corn Chowder at Soba, or sampling their Kumamoto Oysters at Eleven, they may not realize that behind the sometimes cheeky, but always fantastic, foods at big Burrito is a well-run business. And no one is more business than Shadyside resident Cary Klein, the Squirrel Hill native who has been the CEO of big Burrito Restaurant Group since 2001. Klein, 54, is responsible for “strategic planning, marketing and finance. The only thing I don’t do is run the restaurant shift,” he offers somewhat modestly. When Klein joined the big Burrito group, he brought a lot to the table, but not in the way of the food itself. Instead, he offered a proven track record in running a successful business, rue21, a discount clothing retailer that had grown to 200 stores when Klein left the business, taking with him a noncompete agreement “to do anything I knew how to do,” he says. Turns out that his non-compete was one of the best things that ever happened to Klein—and to big Burrito.
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J Magazine
“big Burrito was looking for capital and management help, and it was a good fit at the time,” he explains, adding that he intended to take a passive role in the company. But Klein didn’t settle into that passive role as planned; instead, among other things, he helped launch the