Is a Burrito a Sandwich? The 2006 Massachusetts Court Ruling

Absurd But True. Narration in the video is an AI voice, and the pictures are illustrations, not photos of real people or products.

The short version

In 2006 a Massachusetts Superior Court judge had to decide whether a burrito is a sandwich. It was not a food argument. It was a shopping-centre lease.

What happened

• The lease: a Panera restaurant's lease barred its landlord from leasing to a bakery or restaurant "reasonably expected to have annual sales of sandwiches greater than ten percent (10%) of its total sales". The lease never defined "sandwiches".
• The new neighbour: the landlord then signed a lease with a Qdoba franchisee.
• The argument: the Panera restaurant's operator argued that burritos, tacos and quesadillas count as sandwiches, and asked the court for a preliminary injunction.
• The dictionary: the judge looked up the word: "two thin pieces of bread, usually buttered, with a thin layer (as of meat, cheese, or savory mixture) spread between them".
• The finding: "the term 'sandwich' is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos, and quesadillas." The judge denied the motion on 31 October 2006.

What this does not mean

This was a ruling on a motion for a preliminary injunction under one lease. It was not a final judgment and not a general ruling on burritos. We did not find any later ruling in the case. So the honest version is: in that lease, a burrito was not a sandwich.

Sources

• Opinion and order on the motion for a preliminary injunction, White City Shopping Center v. PR Restaurants, LLC, 21 Mass. L. Rptr. 565 (Mass. Super. Ct. Oct. 31, 2006): CourtListener

This video is made with AI tools and reviewed by people before release. See how we make our videos.