Restaurant news: Popular Tex-Mex chain restaurant to open first Palm Coast location

This frequented Tex-Mex restaurant plans to welcome its first Flagler County location at the end of the month.

Tijuana Flats, a popular chain restaurant that got its start in 1995 in Winter Park and now has more than 130 locations nationwide, will open its newest eatery in just a few short weeks in Palm Coast.

According to franchise owner Joe Jeffries, the new restaurant, which was originally planned to open over a year ago, has pushed back its targeted opening date more than once due to a change in ownership groups and ongoing construction delays.

Jeffries’ group owns both the Palm Coast and North DeLand Tijuana Flats franchises and hopes to continue to expand into Ormond Beach and New Smyrna Beach in the future.

“I’m newer to Palm Coast, but just from my interactions with the community — we’re really excited about opening up in Palm Coast. I think it’s going to be a very successful restaurant,” Jeffries said in a phone interview.

“We really want to immerse ourselves in the community, and we’re looking forward to partnering with the local hospital there, the schools, churches. It’s really what we shoot for: our partnerships with the local community. So, we’re excited about doing that as well.”

The Florida-born eatery strives to “satisfy people’s cravings for bold flavors and colorful experiences,” and notes online that customers can expect fresh ingredients, scratch-made-daily queso, guacamole and salsa, as well as made-to-order meals when visiting their nearest Tijuana Flats restaurant.

The eatery’s menu of tacos, nachos, burritos and other “Flats’ favorites” ranges from the crispy shrimp and corn tacos — fried shrimp, avocado sauce, cilantro slaw, corn salsa, pickled red onions, garlic lime sauce and queso fresco — to the Smokin’ Chipotle Chicken Burrito — cilantro lime rice, Smokin' Chipotle chicken, black beans, shredded lettuce and cheddar jack, fresh jalapenos, sour cream, queso fresco, and pico — and the cheesy steak flautas — steak, poblano peppers and onions, shredded cheddar jack, garlic lime sauce, pico, sliced jalapenos, and a side of guacamole and sour cream.

According to Jeffries, the new Palm Coast location plans to open by the end of the month, tentatively Jan. 29, on the corner of State Road 100 and Town Center Boulevard.

“We’re just anxious to get open and get ourselves immersed in the community. The biggest thing is just all the excitement around the new location opening,” Jeffries said. “You can feel it, so we’re just excited about getting open and serving burritos and tacos to everyone.”

Tijuana Flats is located at 5890 State Road 100 in Palm Coast. According to Jeffries, its hours will be similar to other local Tijuana Flats locations. For information, visit tijuanaflats.com.

Helena Perray is the restaurant and dining writer for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. A New Jersey native and passionate storyteller, she can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook. Support local journalism by subscribing

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Tijuana Flats to open first Palm Coast restaurant