Chomp to success, one store at a time

Steve Martin keeps opening more Tijuana Flats restaurants on the Gulf Coast, yet the question of why he has launched another business in a recession keeps dogging him.

“Every time I open one it does really well,” Martin tells the doubters. “Why would I want to stop?”

Martin opened his latest Tijuana Flats in November on Cortez Road in west Bradenton, a few blocks from the heavily traveled Tamiami Trail-Cortez intersection. It's the eighth one Martin has opened since 2002, when he emptied his 401(k) and other savings, a total of $300,000, to buy into a partnership with Maitland-based Tijuana Flats. The chain's brand centers on funky Tex-Mex, with sauces that go by names like “Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally”.