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Tijuana Flats is an American restaurant chain serving Tex-Mex cuisine. It has 108 locations throughout Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Indiana.〔http://www.tijuanaflats.com〕 Tijuana Flats is known for its hot sauce bars, murals 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. It was modeled after Burrito Brothers, a Mexican restaurant in Gainesville, Florida and funded with $20,000〔 in borrowed money from Wheeler's family.〔〔Hayes, J. (2003). Big-burrito chain Tijuana Flats spices up plans for expansion. Nation's Restaurant News, 37(50), 28.〕 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."〔 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. After the third location was opened, a semi-retired restaurant executive, Camp Fitch, was invited to Tijuana Flats by his golf partner.〔〔 In 1999, Fitch invested in the company and was appointed its CEO to expand the chain nationally. 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.〔 Tijuana Flats had six locations by 2001,〔Hayes, J. (2001). Menu specials, simplified operations heat up Tijuana Flats brand. Nation's Restaurant News, 35(26), 26.〕 which grew to 18 locations in 2004 and 65 by 2009. In 2005, Tijuana Flats built its first training center for branch managers in Winter Park. In 2007, Tijuana Flats shifted from a franchise model to corporate-owned stores. The chain re-purchased some of its under-performing franchise locations. 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 and started donating profits from the Just in Queso hot sauce to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. In 2011, Tijuana Flats updated its menu with fish tacos, "Norrito" bowls and Bangin Chicken entrees, salads and tostadas. In 2012 Tijuana Flats donated the proceeds from their seasonal hot sauces to Kids Beating Cancer and gave out free entrees to teachers after a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on December 27. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tijuana Flats」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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