Hawaiian Tacos Will Come to Austin with Coconut’s Fish Cafe
Austin Eater
This will be the franchise’s first venture to the city.
Coconut’s Fish Cafe, the Hawaiian-based seafood franchise, is coming to Austin, as reported by the Austin Business Journal. The Austin franchise will be run by Tim Brasher, Nathan Brasher, and Jim Scherer, who also operate the Dallas locations.
The original cafe was founded by Michael Phillips in Maui in 2009. His daughter and son-in-law Frances and Dan Oney joined the business and expanded the fast-casual chain to contiguous states, first in Arizona, followed by Dallas and Plano. The Texan franchise team wanted to expand to Austin because it “would be a great fit for us,” said Dan, “because we have a particular brand that caters to healthier lifestyle, higher quality food, and chef-driven cuisine, even though it’s a quick service environment.” He added, “Those are all concepts that seem to be really popular in Austin.”
Frances describes the menu as “a representation of the Hawaiian islands,” calling out coconuts, pineapple, and ginger, as well as sustainably-caught fish like mahi mahi, ono, and ahi tuna as “tastes of the island.” Expect to find fish tacos, coconut shrimp, seafood pasta, and more at the Austin outpost. Beer and wine will be served as well.
There will be four restaurants in Austin, with additional spots not being ruled out yet. Specific locations haven’t been pinned down yet, though the team has been searching. They’re looking for spaces that are between 2,500-3,500 square feet.