Phat Burrito will be back soon with a right place

The Phat is back.

More than three years after it closed, the landmark South End burrito joint Phat Burrito is making a comeback. New owner Michael Cox just needs to find the right spot.

In the last days of Phat Burrito in 2017, people lined up around the yellow and blue building, stretching for about a block down Camden Road.

They were there for the burritos, of course — the oversized kinds you needed both hands to lift up for a bite.

But regulars also flocked to Phat Burrito to get a taste of the atmosphere one last time. “It had bars on the windows. There were tears in the seats,” Cox says. “It had a certain vibe to it.”

That vibe has all but vanished in the South End of today.

When Stephen Justice opened Phat Burrito in 1998, it was one of just a handful of places to eat in South End. There was no light rail, no corporate offices, no breweries.

It wasn’t a desirable location for a restaurant, but it was cheap