People camp outside of new Surcheros for free burritos, tacos and more at grand opening 

PERRY — Mandy Eakin and her son were first in line outside of the new Surcheros for the grand opening on Tuesday, and they’d been waiting since 7 p.m. Monday night. 

Staying overnight to wait for a restaurant opening must have a good reason, and the newest Surcheros location did. The company gave the first 50 guests at the new Perry location free entrees, such as a burrito, burrito bowl, nachos or tacos. The promotion can be used once a week for a year. 

The line outside wrapped around the building on Houston Lake Road.

Others vying for free food came hours later. She said those next in line arrived in an RV that had been in the parking lot all night. 

Eiken has two kids and a husband and said the free food will be shared with her family. Her son wanted to camp out as some people do on Black Friday. 

“Because we live so close, we drove by a few times to see if anybody was coming and said ‘we’ll just make a night of it’,” Eakin said in an interview. “I’m a teacher, and I have nothing else to do this summer, but for [free food] it’s worth it.” 

Surcheros originated in Douglas, Georgia, and is now headquartered in Alpharetta. The Tex-Mex spot also has locations in Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. 

The new Surcheros is the 37th location in Georgia and the second in Houston County. The other location is at 1277 South Houston Lake Road in Warner Robins.

Franchisee and entrepreneur Kyle Cullars is excited to bring the brand to Perry. He also owns the other location on South Houston Lake Road.

“I think [Perry] is the perfect combination of a nice and friendly southern town that is also developing and growing in all the right ways,” Cullars said in an interview. 

Cullars said the free entrees for a year promotion is great to have for a grand opening. 

“It really drums up a lot of excitement for your opening, and every store that we’ve opened we’ve had lots of people already there camping out overnight.” 

Cullars said their goal is to provide an escape from the worries of day-to-day life and to make Surcheros a place to relax and enjoy good food. 

“You never know the weight people are carrying around, and we just want to make sure to serve everybody that maybe lightens their load,” he said. 

The new Surcheros is located at 1818 Houston Lake Road in Perry. The restaurant is open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

See the menu at www.surcheros.com.