|
Lava Flow Ventures,
a new local company led by a tech entrepreneur on his second career,
is bringing the Maui Tacos franchise to Northern California --
a chain that blends some of its traditional Mexican food with
the flavors of Hawaii.
The first restaurant opened in 1993 in Napili,
Maui, when chef Mark Ellman started a Mexican restaurant to settle
his craving for a taqueria. Ellman had lived in Los Angeles, and
got used to having good Mexican food available around any corner.
He couldn't find much on the island, so he opened his own.
Apparently he wasn't alone, because the idea
took off. He had six more sites on Maui, Oahu and Hawaii within
three years. The first one to land on the mainland opened in 1998.
There are now 19 restaurants, with plans for nearly 50 more by
2008.
The only Maui Tacos in California so far are
in Gilroy and Hayward, but the Sacramento area is about to get
a few. Franchisee Bryon Axt has signed up to open at least 12
local restaurants over the next five years.
Axt sold his Rocklin electronics manufacturing
company to Varian Inc. in 2000, but stayed on with the company.
This year Varian sold the factory to another buyer, which is shutting
the Rocklin plant, so Axt is moving on to a second career in tacos.
Axt grew up in the restaurant business in the
Bay Area, and says he looks forward to getting back into it. Axt
hopes to nail down his first leases this spring.
Taco avalanche: Taco Del Mar, a quick-serve
restaurant specializing in fish tacos and featuring giant burritos,
is about to bombard the area with new locations.
The first opens in June in Cameron Park in
Sam's Town Village, followed by one in July in Placerville. West
Sacramento, Folsom, Citrus Heights, Rocklin, Roseville and Natomas
are supposed to get shops before the end of the year. And there
are more in the works after that.
Taco Del Mar's brightly colored restaurants
have a Baja theme, with surfboards used as decorations and tables.
The Seattle chain uses spaces of 1,000 to 1,500 square feet, pretty
small for a restaurant.
The concept doesn't need a commercial kitchen,
says Bill Wright of El Dorado Hills. He co-owns Stellar Ventures
Inc., the master franchiser for Taco Del Mar franchises in Sacramento,
the East Bay and the Delta region of California.
Stellar has sold 25 franchises in Sacramento
since starting seven months ago. Stellar is bidding on 21 leases
around the area, is about to bid on 10 more, and has 12 signed
leases and eight sites in review.
He has also buttoned up 15 leases in Fresno,
and plans to start expanding into Reno this summer.
Wright used to own 20 Subway units in eastern
Washington. He began developing Taco Del Mar stores in central
Washington and Utah two years ago.
Taco Del Mar is similar to Subway sandwich
shops in that the shops have no kitchen. Fresh produce is prepped
in the stores, but the meat is delivered pre-cooked by a vendor
-- Sysco Corp., in this case. At the stores, the employees simply
warm the meat and beans. That means the leased space doesn't need
a kitchen, a large grease trap, a ventilation hood or a lot of
other expensive equipment.
Developing a store usually costs about $185,000.
California costs more, at around $220,000, but that's still less
than one-fifth of the cost of opening a restaurant with a working
kitchen and grill.
"Once we get the lease and all the permits
from the city or county, we can build it out in six weeks,"
Wright says.
The design of the restaurant also allows for
a streamlined work force, with a crew of just three or four people
working the counter. The stores have a walk-in cooler, steam tables
and a flash-bake oven -- used to quickly heat the frozen fish.
Salsa and guacamole are made fresh on site.
Wright says taquerias are the fastest-growing
fast-food segment.
If Chili's had a drive-through ...: The first
Habit Burger Grill opened in Roseville at the end of April in
the Ralphs shopping center at Douglas and Sierra College boulevards.
It replaces a Blimpie's and so far is doing quite well, says Brent
Reichard, who founded and owns the Santa Barbara-based company.
The local store is company-owned. Reichard
says he's looking for a site on the other side of Roseville, as
well as locations around Arden, Natomas and Elk Grove.
Habit Burger sells burgers, skinless chicken
breast, vegetarian and grilled tuna sandwiches, plus salads and
a tri-tip sandwich. The typical location usually sells three tri-tips
for every chicken sandwich. In Roseville, the ratio is reversed,
Reichard says.
"We're in a niche between Chili's and
the drive-through," he says. Charburgers start at less than
$3 apiece, and the tuna and tri-tip cost around $5.
Area gets its first Sonic Drive In: The area's
first Sonic America's Drive In just opened in Woodland last weekend,
featuring drive-in and drive-through service.
The company, founded in 1953, still features
a drive-in, where carhops deliver food to the cars parked in front.
Sonic (Nasdaq: SONC) is the largest chain of drive-ins in the
country. It's up to the carhops whether they wear roller skates
or not. The Woodland operation, at 1580 East Main St., has 23
parking stalls and a small dining area inside and outside.
The restaurant is being franchised by Michael
Alizadeh, brother of Abe Alizadeh, the local franchisee of Jack
in the Box and Qdoba restaurants in Northern California.
Sonic Corp., based in Oklahoma City, has more
than 2,900 locations coast to coast, mostly through the South,
the Great Plains states, Texas and the Midwest.
The menu has the basic fast-food fare of burgers,
shakes and hot dogs. It also has wraps, chicken dishes and salads.
Sonic is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the whole menu
is available at any time.
The breakfast menu is the kind of thing you
would imagine eating in a car, from the sandwiches and french-toast
sticks to breakfast burrito and pancake on a stick.
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@bizjournals.com.
|
