
After emerging from bankruptcy earlier this year, Tijuana Flats is making changes to become a bit more authentically Mexican.
CEO James Greco said in an interview the Orlando-based chain has been working with a family-owned food business in Mexico City to create menu items that would be more like what would be found there. He declined to identify the company, for competitive reasons, but said Tijuana Flats’ culinary team has been working with the chefs in Mexico on several new offerings.
First up, for example, is a line of Street Tacos that have tested well at Tijuana Flats and soon will become part of the permanent menu.
Tacos are the top selling category at the Mexican-inspired chain, followed by burritos, he said. Tijuana Flats operates mostly in the Southeast.
“We’ve created some really good, flavorful recipes that are nothing like anything else you’ll see here in the U.S.,” said Greco. “Our objective is when you bite in, you think, ‘Wow, this is really good.’”
And there will be more coming to the menu this year. In the summer, for example, the chain will bring in Mexican Street Corn, which Greco said is also expected to be a real standout in the Mexican fast-casual space.
It’s a category that has long been dominated by the 3,600-unit Chipotle, which last year was one of the top-performing fast-casual brands, indicating American consumers love fast-casual Mexican food.
But Chipotle is more about burritos and bowls, and it doesn’t franchise in the U.S. That has a growing crowd of Mexican fast-casual franchise brands jockeying to move into that white space. The 785-unit Qdoba, for example, is accelerating growth with the goal of reaching 1,000 units by 2027.
Qdoba and other peers, like Torchy’s Tacos, Café Rio and Moe’s Southwest Grill, all grew sales in 2023, according to Restaurant Business sister brand Technomic. Of those, only Tijuana Flats had a sales decline that year (down 6.6%).
Greco was hired in 2024 to turn the chain around.
The 30-year-old brand was acquired last year by Los Angeles-based LS Capital through the holding company called Flatheads LLC, which assumed debt in exchange for equity. Flatheads put the company into bankruptcy in April.
Through late 2023 and into 2024—and before the acquisition—about 40 underperforming Tijuana Flats units were shuttered. That was more than Greco felt was necessary, but it was done before he came into the picture.
Greco said he has focused on the four P’s: People, Place, Product and Positioning.
He set out to improve profitability, benchmarking costs and making cuts, like right sizing the support center, for example. The chain is testing tweaks to store design, which are ongoing. A new marketing agency has been brought in to help communicate the new positioning and the menu items to come.
Same-store sales are improving, and so are traffic trends, he said, though he declined to offer details.
Now with 69 company-owned and 26 franchised units, Tijuana Flats expects to see franchisees open some new units this year, but Greco sees 2026 as more likely when growth will reignite.
“The focus now is on continuing to improve the performance and quality of the product,” said Greco.
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