A large white sign with red writing at 403 E. Grand River Ave. replaces pictures of hamburgers and fries in the window of what was going to be a new location of Hot 'N Now.

Big Ten Burrito, a new franchise restaurant will move into the building this summer, with plans to open in late July or early August.

A recent graduate from the University of Michigan, Adam Lowenstein, 22, and his business partner, Justin Herrick, 28, opened the first Big Ten Burrito in Ann Arbor after moving here from Santa Barbara, Calif.

"The whole Midwest is lacking a good burrito place. When we opened up in Ann Arbor, things were a total success," Lowenstein said.

Hot 'N Now was expected to open in May 2004 and put together half of the building when the franchise business went bankrupt.

"The building was half done - just like a half-done hamburger, you can't do anything with it," said Brad Ballein, manager of the Student Book Store, which owns the property where Big Ten Burrito will be located.

Sten Corporation and its Burger Time Acquisition Corp., based in Minneapolis, Minn., bought out assets of the former franchisor, Hot 'N Now, due to the business going bankrupt, according to a March 3 press release.

"We're disappointed that Hot 'N Now didn't open because of their bankruptcy," Ballein said. "We're excited about Big Ten Burrito."

After hearing Lansing-area residents talking about driving down to Ann Arbor to eat at Big Ten Burrito, Ballein knew that the wait for something to go into the building was worth it.

With four Mexican-style restaurants, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Panchero's Mexican Grill, Taco Bell and El Azteco Restaurant, within a few blocks from the soon-to-be location, Lowenstein said he knows he has plenty of competition.

"Our biggest competition is Panchero's," he said. "They did what we wanted to do 10 years ago, but we feel we are a better product at a cheaper price."

Lowenstein said that one of the ideas behind Big Ten Burrito is that all items on the menu are to the dollar value with tax included, which appeals to people.

Angel Romero, manager for Panchero's, 125 Grand River Ave., said he feels there won't be competition.

"If (customers) don't like it, they will come back here," he said.

"We have a lot of faithful customers here, so hopefully it won't affect us too much. I think I'll go and try it too."