Amid growing concern over the spread of the new coronavirus, metro Phoenix Mexican restaurant chain Someburros is donating platters of food to local hospitals and fire stations.

Owners and management at Someburros, a family owned chain of fast casual Mexican restaurants, decided that each of the company's 10 Arizona restaurants would deliver between two and four platters of food to first responders and healthcare workers.

Since Saturday, around 20 platters have been delivered, feeding some 200 nurses, doctors and fire fighters.

"They have been working around the clock and they might not have time to eat," Someburros president and co-owner Tim Vasquez says. "We just wanted to bring them a good meal."

'It's the only thing I can do'

Vasquez got the idea from a longtime employee who wanted to do something to help. The idea started with the company's Gilbert restaurant and spread to each of the other nine locations throughout Arizona.

Gilbert Counter Manager Jessica Hunyada jumped at the opportunity when asked to deliver food to the local hospital, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, on Saturday.

"It's the only thing I can do," she says. "When I brought the food, they were kind of in shock. They were so grateful."

Hunyada says she went to the hospital and found a nurse who took her upstairs to the floor he worked on. She put the platters out in the break room for all the medical professionals to share. Nurses posed for photos with Jessica as they dug into the taquitos and chimichangas.

Hunyada delivered two Fiesta Platters, which include green chile, red chile and bean mini chimichangas, taquitos, chips, hot sauce and guacamole, to the hospital on Saturday and another to Gilbert Fire Station One on Monday.

What is Someburros?

The deliveries are something Someburros hopes to continue while they can, Vasquez says, as helping the community is part of his company's culture.

Vasquez's parents opened the first Someburros in 1986. Over the past 34 years the restaurant company has grown from one to nine locations and is now co-owned by Vasquez and his siblings.

The company's logo includes the words "autentico" and "familia," authentic and family, both values by which Vasquez says the company lives.

Reach the reporter at tirion.morris@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @tirionmorris, on Facebook at Tirion Rose and on Instagram at tirionrose.