Their locations remain open late at night, serving Tex-Mex cuisine under the slogan "burritos as big as your head".
[7][16][17] In 1987, brothers Ramiro and Antonio Aguas opened the first La Bamba restaurant near the main campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
[9] Antonio was abducted at gunpoint outside his Champaign business and held for ransom for several days after being transported across the state border in 2006.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Portland, Indiana law enforcement efforts led to the safe return of Antonio and the arrest of two suspects.
[4] La Bamba Mexican Restaurants Group was named in 2007 lawsuits by the Ohio Attorney General against Citibank and Campus Dimensions Inc.[21][22] Advertisements offered free burritos to students without mentioning that applying for a credit card was required to receive the offer.