Meet Matt Stevanus

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Stevanus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When I started up lowkey burritos my schedule was extremely limited. At the time I had 2 kids one was 2 and the other was a few months old and I was thinking to myself that I needed to make more than $11/hr to support them. I was working at a breakfast restaurant at the time and figured if I’m making all this food and they sell for so much each then why dont I do it myself? So one week I quit and I bought a grill online and started a few days later in LA.

What should our readers know about your business?
Lowkey Burritos is a street food pop up serving in Long Beach and LA. We’re known for breakfast burritos and bringing the crispy cheese crust on the outside of the burritos to the spot light. It took a lot to get to where we are today from steadily growing in the beginning to having to adjust to the lockdowns and many other obstacles. Things definitely have not been easy since the beginning of the business. I’ve had to raise 3 kids most of the time on my own, lose my house, have our first brick and mortar need to be shut down out of no where, and continue to deal with injuries from a major car accident. I’m just like everyone else with mouths to feed and bills to pay so I don’t really have a choice but to work through the hard times and continue with my responsibilities. I’ve learned a lot about being a boss and person along the way. Patience is definitely something that I didn’t have a lot of in the start of the pop up. I never saw myself sticking around for 5 years but here we are still cooking burritos every weekend.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is a lot of different places I like in LA. My go to activity is usually eating and there are so many great places to eat all through out the area. I definitely don’t want anyone to feel insulted if I don’t list them off. Some of my favorite breakfast burritos in the area are the Rooster, Julians Tortilleria, Cofax coffee, and Wake & Late. I love burgers and pizza so Goldburger LA and Little Dynamite Pizza would be a for sure visit. La Brea ramen and Jounetsu ramen are my two favorites in the area for ramen obviously. Dinner is can range at so many different places whether its more pizza and cheese burgers or tacos from my friend at Flaccos tacos in Long Beach. If its something fancy it could be Ammatoli in long beach, Le Comptoir in Korea town, or Manpuku Japanese grill.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give thanks to so many people it would be near impossible to list everyone and not be forgetting some. I want to thank all the people who came to try the food and who have been supporting whether it be from the beginning or somewhere along the way. The people in the buildings near my original spot got me started and recognized. I want to thank all the different coffee shops, breweries, and other small independent businesses for allowing me to work in their spaces. I’m thankful for all the people who have helped me from beginning to now I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without all their help. The people who help me now keep it going and have helped run things when I couldn’t do it anymore alone. I want to thank the people from social media, news, and other media outlets for posting about me and helping me out with their larger followings when I was still small.

Instagram: instagram.com/lowkeyburritos

Other: there are tons of video interviews on youtube or the Eater special on Hulu