Tijuana Flats

Tijuana Flats Tex-Mex
Private
Industry Restaurants
Founded 1995
Area served
 Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Indiana
Key people
 J. Camp Fitch, Chairman & CEO
Number of employees
 3,000(2016)
Website www.tijuanaflats.com

Tijuana Flats Tex-Mex is an American restaurant chain serving Tex-Mex cuisine. It has 117 locations throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Indiana.[1] Tijuana Flats is known for its hot sauce bars, murals, excellent guest service and off-beat culture. Customers order at the front counter and are served after sitting. The restaurants are fast-casual hybrids, being best known for outstanding service, quality and cleanliness.

Tijuana Flats uses zero trans-fatty acids (TFA) cooking oils, 100 percent hormone free, white meat chicken, fresh produce and all of its menu items have been lard free. Flour or whole-wheat tortilla options are available for select items. This restaurant features a “Power Lite” selection, offering low-fat cheese and fat-free sour cream in any menu item.

The restaurant was founded in 1995 by University of Central Florida graduate Brian Wheeler with $20,000 in loans. The company had 18 locations before expanding out-of-state in 2004. Tijuana Flats started out as a franchise, but switched to a corporate-owned model for new stores in 2007.

History

Tijuana Flats was started by University of Central Florida graduate, Brian Wheeler, in 1995 in Winter Park, Florida.[2] It was modeled after Burrito Brothers, a Mexican restaurant in Gainesville, Florida[3] and funded with $20,000[4] in borrowed money from Wheeler's family.[3][5] Students from Wheeler's former college made up some of the restaurant's early customers. Wheeler tried to create his own signature hot-sauce unsuccessfully before hiring Edgewater to formulate the restaurant's sauce brand, "Smack My Ass & Call Me Sally."[3] When Wheeler received an order to have 25 cases of the sauce shipped to California, he set up a separate company called Tijuana Flats Hot Foods Inc. as a hot sauce business.[6]

After the third location was opened, a semi-retired restaurant executive, Camp Fitch, was invited to Tijuana Flats by his golf partner.[3][7] In 1999, Fitch invested in the company and was appointed its CEO to expand the chain nationally.[7] When the fourth location opened, the founder's dad, Chester Wheeler, was reimbursed for his $20,000 loan used to start the company and joined as the CFO.[3]

Tijuana Flats had six locations by 2001,[4] which grew to 18 locations in 2004[8] and 65 by 2009.[9] In 2005, Tijuana Flats built its first training center for branch managers in Winter Park.[10] In 2007, Tijuana Flats shifted from a franchise model to corporate-owned stores.[11] The chain re-purchased some of its under-performing franchise locations.[12] That same year Tijuana Flats created its non-profit arm, the Just in Queso Foundation. The Foundation donated $46,000 to remodel the home of a handicapped war vet[13] and started donating profits from the Just in Queso hot sauce to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.[14]

In 2011, Tijuana Flats updated its menu with fish tacos, "Norrito" bowls and Bangin Chicken entrees, salads and tostadas.[15] In 2012 Tijuana Flats donated the proceeds from their seasonal hot sauces to Kids Beating Cancer[16] and gave out free entrees to teachers after a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 27.[17][18]

Restaurants

A hot sauce bar from Tijuana Flats

Tijuana Flats is a "fast casual" hybrid,[19] where customers order at the counter and seat themselves, but are served at their table afterwards.[20] It serves burritos, chimichangas, tacos, nachos, flautas and other Mexican food.[21] There are health options for low-fat cheese, fat-free sour cream and whole-wheat tortillas.[22][23] It also has vegetarian and "wet" options, a children's menu and take-out.[7] As of 2008, the average check was $8 at lunch and $13 at dinner.[24] The restaurant has 100 locations in Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.[25]

Tijuana Flats restaurant locations have murals and the company uses unusual slogans like "embrace the strange and unexplained" and "hot is the new cool."[26][27] The restaurants are known for their salsa bars, artwork and a hot sauce brand called "Smack My Ass & Call Me Sally."[4] 98 percent of revenues from the Just in Queso hot sauce are donated to charitable causes like the American Red Cross, Soldiers Angels and Frontline Head Start.[7][28] The hot sauce bar has 13 sauces and customers under eighteen years old aren't allowed at the bar.[7]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tijuanaflats.com
  2. ↑ Gregory, Evan (December 13, 2012). "New UCF Tijuana Flats Location". Beyond UCF, Business, Food, News. University of Central Florida. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Joseph, Scott (July 20, 2008). "Tijuana Flats -- a straight-up success story". Orlando Sentinel. pp. F. 10.
  4. 1 2 3 Hayes, J. (2001). Menu specials, simplified operations heat up Tijuana Flats brand. Nation's Restaurant News, 35(26), 26.
  5. ↑ Hayes, J. (2003). Big-burrito chain Tijuana Flats spices up plans for expansion. Nation's Restaurant News, 37(50), 28.
  6. ↑ "Tijuana Flats sets sights on more stores". Orlando Business Journal. May 24, 2004. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Bowers, Irene (November 22, 2007). "Tijuana Flats heats up scene with second eatery opening". The Virginian-Pilot. p. 32.
  8. ↑ Brett, Jennifer (October 7, 2004). "'Fast-casual' food comes to Georgia via Tijuana Flats". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. pp. 12JJ.
  9. ↑ "Tijuana Flats Expands". Tampa Tribune (Florida). January 23, 2009. p. 5.
  10. ↑ Uribarri, Adrian (August 17, 2005). "A hot new recipe for training". pp. C1.
  11. ↑ "Tijuana Flats shelves franchising as way to build Tex-Mex chain". The Orlando Sentinel. May 31, 2007.
  12. ↑ Clarke, Sara (May 31, 2007). "Tijuana Flats shelves franchising as way to build Tex-Mex chain LESS-SPICY EXPANSION". Orlando Sentinel. pp. C1.
  13. ↑ Palm, Anika (March 6, 2010). "Veteran gets home makeover". Orlando Sentinel.
  14. ↑ Clark, Anthony (September 13, 2007). "Tijuana Flats to Donate Hot Sauce Proceeds". Gainesville. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  15. ↑ Snel, Alan (August 1, 2011). "Tijuana Flats' new entrees aim for the light side". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  16. ↑ Mesulam, Sheila (December 12, 2012). "FYI-Food: Learn how to cook a Christmas goose". Naples News.
  17. ↑ Pedicini, Sandra (December 19, 2012). "Tijuana Flats honors teachers with free meals". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  18. ↑ Lonon, Sherri (December 27, 2012). "Teachers Eat Free at Tijuana Flats Thursday". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  19. ↑ Thurston, Susan (August 28, 2012). "Fast-casual restaurants gobbling up Tampa Bay market". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Tijuana Flats Sizzles in Crowded Mexican Category". Orlando Sentinel. June 5, 2006.
  21. ↑ Uribarri, Adrian (September 13, 2007). "Irreverent Tex-Mex Eatery Due". The Orlando Sentinel.
  22. ↑ Shrieves, Linda (April 25, 2002). "Tijuana Flats and the Ketchup Crisis". pp. H3.
  23. ↑ Carter, Alice (January 24, 2008). "Tijuana Flats Takes Carefree Approach Seriously". Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  24. ↑ Cobb, Catherine (October 6, 2008). "Persistent chains plan growth in spite of economic troubles". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved January 13, 2013.
  25. ↑ Find Your Tijuana Flats, Tijuana Flats, retrieved January 8, 2013
  26. ↑ Sickler, Shannon (March 29, 2006). "The burrito evolves". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  27. ↑ Littman, Margaret (January 1, 2008). "A MySpace odyssey: Tijuana Flats tries to connect with its customers by spotlighting unknown, cutting-edge musicians on MySpace". Chain Leader.
  28. ↑ Just in Queso, Tijuana Flats, retrieved January 6, 2013

External links

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