OCC Entrepreneur and Businessperson of the Year Bubbakoo\u2019s Founder Paul Altero Serves Up Burritos, Business Acumen<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone wants to be an entrepreneur,\u201d says alumnus Paul Altero, the co owner and founder of the Bubbakoo\u2019s Burritos restaurant chain. \u201cAnd that\u2019s great. I like that spirit. But you have to pay your dues. You have to work hard and learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Altero speaks at his alma maters \u2013 both OCC and the University of Delaware \u2013 he encourages his young audience. \u201cKids need to hear that they can do it,\u201d Altero, 47, noted. But he also emphasizes diligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While attending high school at Donovan Catholic, Altero felt he likely didn\u2019t possess the diligence or maturity to attend a four-year college. \u201cI wasn\u2019t financially prepared to go to an institution I couldn\u2019t afford,\u201d he said. \u201c So, there was that affordability factor. And my father was sick at the time with cancer so I didn\u2019t want to go far away from my home for college.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Altero decided to enroll at OCC. \u201cIt was 100 percent the right choice,\u201d he remarked. \u201cHow could it not be a great choice? It\u2019s affordable, and you get a quality education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCommunity college is an awesome option,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As he said of his time at OCC, during which he also worked, \u201cI really enjoyed the business classes I took.\u201d When he started at the University of Delaware to pursue a bachelor\u2019s degree in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management, he felt prepared. OCC fostered his \u201cmaturity and academic acumen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After graduating from OCC with an A.S. in Business Administration in 1993, Altero continued his education and received a B.S. from the University of Delaware in 1995. He then set his sights on Atlantic City. He held management roles for Resorts Hotel & Casino, Pizzeria Uno, Nordstrom\u2019s restaurant division, and Friendly\u2019s restaurants. He then began a 10-year stint with Johnny Rocket\u2019s, where he became Regional Director of Eastern Operations when he was in his early 30s. Before leaving Johnny Rocket\u2019s, Altero advanced to Interim Vice President of Operations, overseeing locations both regionally and nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2008, Altero opened the very first Bubbakoo\u2019s Burritos in Point Pleasant. \u201cThe idea came from my days at the University of Delaware,\u201d he noted. As an undergrad there, he traveled to visit a cousin in Washington, D.C., and was introduced to the concept of the make-your-own-burrito, which seemed to be gaining popularity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis was always something I wanted to do\u2026but I wanted to do it differently,\u201d said Altero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The chain\u2019s menu, he noted, is not your standard offering. The most popular items: the crispy buffalo chicken burrito, the hibachi steak and shrimp burrito, and sriracha pork burritos all set Bubbakoo\u2019s apart from its competitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the custom burritos and tacos, the restaurants offer burrito bowls, quesadillas, nachos, taco salads, and \u201cThe Chiwawa,\u201d a lightly-fried, panko-crusted cheesy rice ball smothered with nacho cheese, choice of meat, and toppings. There are also student meals, a kids\u2019 menu, and a \u201clifestyle menu\u201d with items such as a keto bowl, a whole food plant-based bowl, and various vegan choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bubbakoo\u2019s, which Altero co-owns with Bill Hart, is also known for its service standards and energetic atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2015, Altero was named the Businessperson of the Year by the Future Business Leaders of America, and he is a three-time recipient of the University of Delaware\u2019s Blue Hen 17&43 Award. In 2018, Bubbakoo\u2019s Burritos was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine\u2019s Top 100 Franchises and was ranked Top 10 Hottest Mexican Franchises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was \u201cscary and exciting\u201d opening that first location, said Altero, who took out home equity loans and maxed out credit cards to do so. But he kept doubling down and rolled the proceeds into more stores. Now, there are 32 locations in California, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Pennsylvania, as well as throughout New Jersey\u2013 with 32 more restaurants currently under development nationwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Once a Viking, Always a Viking OCC Entrepreneur and Businessperson of the Year Bubbakoo\u2019s Founder Paul Altero Serves Up Burritos, Business Acumen \u201cEveryone wants to be an entrepreneur,\u201d says alumnus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49900,"parent":2057,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-49590","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"has_advanced_title_block":false,"subtitle":"","blurb":"","links":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49590\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2057"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ocean.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}