THE owners of a street food business have managed to turn their lockdown blues around by opening a restaurant in Bicester.

Stephen Johnston, 38, from Bicester, has been running burrito stall Boho Burrito with his wife in markets across the county for the past five years, including in Bicester and Oxford.

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When markets closed in the first lockdown, he started running the business from his home.

Later on, a location became available and Mr Johnston managed to open his first fixed premises at a unit in Bicester Business Park on Telford Road.

Oxford Mail: Boho Burrito started out on the street food scene, regularly trading pre-lockdowns at Bicester, Gloucester Green, & Headington markets. Now its moved into its first fixed location in Bicester. 20/01/2021 Picture by Ed Nix

He said: "Street food has been massively affected by the Covid situation. When lockdown first happened markets closed over night.

"We were running the food stall from home and a Bicester location became available so we thought we'd move into it and so far so good.

"Without Covid we would have continued doing what we were doing. We had plans to open a restaurant in two years but the pandemic has accelerated our plans."

Boho Burrito offers freshly made burritos and tacos and is currently open for click and collect. The food is not authentic, but instead inspired by the flavours and ingredients often used in Mexican and Latin American cuisine.

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By starting off in markets, Mr Johnston says he was able to 'hone' his unique recipes.

He said: "Trading in local markets allowed me to hone recipes because we'd get direct feedback from customers.

Oxford Mail: Boho Burrito started out on the street food scene, regularly trading pre-lockdowns at Bicester, Gloucester Green, & Headington markets. Now its moved into its first fixed location in Bicester. 20/01/2021 Picture by Ed Nix

"I have a passion for food in general but specifically Latin American and Mexican food. We take inspiration from those flavours and create a unique take on tacos and burritos.

"It's so great to be offering a different type of cuisine."

Mr Johnstone is grateful for the support his business has received during the pandemic and that he is still able to trade in the current climate.

The husband and wife team also have plans for the future to incorporate a social enterprise element into the restaurant to give back to society similar to other eateries in Oxfordshire such as Tap Social Movement and Yellow Submarine.

To place an order, go to the Boho Burrito Facebook page.

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