Nothing is flat about local entrepreneur's expansion

Steve Martin's Gulf Coast taco empire continues to grow.

Martin opened his eighth Tijuana Flats restaurant on the Gulf Coast, on Cortez Road in west Bradenton, late last year. Store No. 9 opened this summer, in the Feather Sound area of St. Petersburg, and No. 10, in east Manatee County, opens Oct. 29.

“It thrills me to death that we keep opening restaurants and creating jobs,” Martin tells Coffee Talk. “We are at the right price point. People can afford to go out and do tacos.”