When Sean and Kevin Barrington opened their restaurant, Baja Mexican, in Pace a decade ago, it wasn’t just a business move, it was a homecoming.
“We’d been in food for 38 years at that point,” Sean said. “I had worked for everybody else.” After graduating high school in 1987, he started at Burger King two days after graduation, and by 1990 was already a general manager. He spent 15 years there, then 12 years with Whataburger as a senior area manager overseeing 14 restaurants and hundreds of employees.
One of those employees? His daughter, Kaila Barrington Parker who is now an experienced mortgage lender at Reliance Mortgage.
But when a transfer took him to Birmingham, something didn’t sit right.
“I’ve never left home. I’ve been in Pensacola my whole life,” he said. “I couldn’t stand it. So we came home.”
The opportunity to open a franchise presented itself, and the Barringtons jumped on it. Over the last 10 years, they’ve evolved from that franchise model into something fully their own. Today, Baja Mexican is independently owned, rebranded, and rooted firmly in the Pace community.
And that community? It’s grown right alongside them.
“It’s unreal,” Sean said. “The homes that are going in now, the businesses that have opened since we’ve opened, it’s been nonstop growth for the last 10 years.”
If there’s one thing Sean is clear about it’s this: nothing is frozen. And that becomes even more clear when you try the food, it’s delicious.
“Everything is made here in the restaurant,” he said. “It’s fresh. Very fresh. More of a California style than Tex-Mex.”
That freshness shows up immediately, even in the tortilla chips, which are fried in-house daily.
During my visit, we started with the queso and the Mexican street corn dip. The street corn dip alone is worth the drive from Pensacola, creamy, smoky, with just the right kick. The tacos are a clear fan favorite, especially the mahi fish tacos and the newly added birria tacos, which have quickly become a top seller.
There’s also a creative twist in dishes like their fried quesadilla nachos, a cheese quesadilla fried and cut into “chips” before being loaded up like traditional nachos.
Newer additions like the jerk chicken tacos and quesadillas and the chicken bacon ranch tacos have taken off as well, offering something a little different while staying true to their fresh, house-made roots.
And don’t skip dessert. The tres leches cake is light and decadent all at once, and more surprisingly, they serve gooey butter cake. A St.Louis delicacy and childhood favorite I never expected to find here. Turns out, you can find it right here in Pace.
For the Sean and Kevin, serving food and serving the community go hand in hand.
“You can get involved with all kinds of things here,” Sean said. “The schools, we do teacher appreciation lunches at five of the schools every year.”
Beyond that, they partner with organizations like Sleep in Heavenly Peace, helping deliver beds to children in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties. They also cater extensively, from pharmaceutical lunches for doctors’ offices to weddings and even large-scale events at Whiting Field.
“We’ve got it down to a science,” Sean said. “They’ll just call and say, ‘We have 220 people,’ and we’re ready.”
Whether it’s 160 guests or 400, Baja Mexican shows up.
Spending decades in the food industry, overseeing hundreds of employees, and finally building something of their own has come full circle for the Barringtons.
There’s a clear passion in what they’ve built: a restaurant that’s fresh, independent, and deeply invested in the people it serves.
Ten years in Pace. More than 40 years in the food business. And still growing. Want to close by saying thank you to Sean, Kevin and Kaila for inviting me and for Pensacola Eggfest for sponsoring our Food Crush Series.
