TDM IP Holder, LLC. ,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

Taco Del Mar, is a

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based Mexican

fast casual restaurant A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate conce ...

chain that specializes in coastal Mexican cuisine. The first Taco Del Mar was opened in Seattle on June 8, 1992, by brothers James and John Schmidt. After a high of 260 locations in 2010, it has downgraded to only 66 locations in the United States and Canada. It is known for its relaxed, seaside-themed decor inspired by the beaches of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. The name "Taco del Mar," ("taco of the sea" in Spanish), refers to the chain's original specialty – Baja fish tacos. Like the larger Subway chain, customers direct the preparation of their meal, requesting ingredients along an assembly line. A standard selection of Fresh Mex ingredients is available, including

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, flour,

tomatoes The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

, or spinach

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of M ...

s, and fish, beef, pork, or chicken. In 2018, Taco Del Mar was acquired by High Bluff Capital Partners.

Executive resignations

In November 2007, Taco del Mar Franchising Corp President David Huether resigned. Less than one month later, Neal Hollingsworth, Taco del Mar's VP of Franchising Sales also resigned and left the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

/ Tacoma area.

2008 explosion in Vancouver

During the early morning hours of February 13, 2008, a Taco del Mar franchise in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, was destroyed by a large explosion which damaged several nearby businesses. Police confirmed that the blast was caused by an arsonist who had placed an

accelerant Accelerants are substances that can bond, mix or disturb another substance and cause an increase in the speed of a natural, or artificial chemical process. Accelerants play a major role in chemistry—most chemical reactions can be hastened with an ...

inside the restaurant, then set it on fire. Vancouver-area police later arrested Kamal Jeet Singh Josan, suffering from burns to over 40% of his body.CBC: Vancouver police ID suspect in taco shop arson, Owners still wondering why their restaurant was targeted
/ref> The motive for this act was not publicly known. In April 2009, charges against Josan were stayed due to lack of evidence. Prosecutors took up the file again in January 2010, and Josan pleaded guilty to one charge of arson on March 14, 2011. Josan was sentenced to two years of house arrest on June 13, 2011.

2010 bankruptcy filing

On Friday, January 22, 2010, Taco del Mar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Seattle. Among its major creditors were Suzanne Todd, a

franchisee Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, with a disputed claim for $500,000; Paul & Shahnaz Hendifar, with a $125,416 judgment entered in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

;

Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax cre ...

, with a $105,324 tax claim, and the city of Seattle, with a $95,289 claim for taxes. Taco del Mar was auctioned in a bankruptcy sale on September 30, 2010, and the winning bid of $3.25 million came from Connecticut company Franchise Brands LLC. Franchise Brands was created in 2005 by

Fred DeLuca Frederick Adrian DeLuca (October 3, 1947 – September 14, 2015) was an American businessman, who was the co-founder and president of the Subway franchise of fast food restaurants with Peter Buck. During his tenure, Subway grew into the largest f ...

and

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his ca ...

, the founders of Subway restaurants. Both Subway and Franchise Brands LLC are based in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmon ...

. On July 10, 2018, Taco del Mar was sold to High Bluff Capital Partners, the owners of Subway's longtime competitor

Quiznos Quiz Holdings, LLC, doing business as Quiznos, is an American franchised fast-food restaurant based in Denver, Colorado, that specializes in offering toasted submarine sandwiches. It was founded in 1981 by Jimmy Lambatos and sold to Rick and R ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Restaurants in Seattle Cuisine of the Western United States Fast-food chains of the United States Fast casual restaurants Fast-food Mexican restaurants Restaurants in Seattle Restaurant chains in the United States Restaurants established in 1992 American companies established in 1992 1992 establishments in Washington (state) Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 Companies based in Denver