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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”.
“We've been waiting a long time to get into Bradenton,” Martin tells Coffee Talk. “We had to find the right spot.”
Martin, moreover, says he's not done. He plans to open two or three more stores in the next few years. Possible locations include east Manatee County, Seminole and Palm Harbor. Those stores would go with the ones he already he runs, which stretch from Pinellas to Sarasota counties. Once past the startup phase, Martin's Tijuana Flats locations tend to surpass more than $1 million a year in annual sales.
The success stems from a few points, says Martin, who worked in executive roles for Steak & Ale before he got into Tijuana Flats. One, he has self-financed the growth by reinvesting profits. The Bradenton store build-out and opening, for instance, cost $400,000, and the fact that he didn't have to get it through a bank loan was a big boost.
Martin also says the price point of Tijuana Flats, a fast-casual restaurant chain, resonates with consumers. Says Martin: “People can afford tacos.”
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