Coconut’s Fish Cafe brings taste of Hawaii to Texas

The Dallas Business Journal

Fish tacos are a specialty at Coconut’s Fish Cafe.

Tired of going to restaurants and paying $40 to $50 for fish he could catch on the beach across from his house, in 2009 Michael Phillips formed Coconut’s Fish Cafe in Maui.

The Hawaiian eatery quickly became a hit, featuring fresh selections for around $12 per plate. In the six years since its founding, Phillips says the original Coconut’s has grown to serve more than 1,000 customers daily in its 68-seat dining room.

“I got into the restaurant business for fun,” he adds. “When I opened, I developed a menu that I could eat every day, that would be different from everyone else and have a price point so people could eat there two or three times per week.”

Building off that success, the restaurateur is bringing what Phillips calls Coconuts’ “crazy different” taste to Texas with four locations in Dallas and four in Austin. two have opened at 5600 W. Lovers Lane in Dallas and at Preston Park Village, 1900 Preston Road in Plano.

“Texas is, for us, a profile of customers that we’re excited to get to,” Phillips said. “We’re excited to bring something new.”

He added that Coconut’s award-winning fish tacos may resound with Texans. Dubbed “perfection” by Zagat and featured in National Geographic, the tacos are served with white corn tortillas and 17 ingredients, including a tropical mango salsa.

But the Texans’ palettes weren’t the only factor that brought Coconut’s to Texas. Handling the restaurant’s leap to the mainland are Tim Brasher and his brother-in-law Jeff Schere, both of whom have years of experience in the food business.

“I thought it was a great concept,” Brasher said. “It’s a niche that’s not served in a fast-casual environment.”

Brasher was introduced to Coconut’s in Scottsdale, Arizona, which Phillips used as a test market to see if the restaurant concept would flourish in the mainland U.S. After enjoying Coconut’s offerings, Brasher traveled to Maui to experience the original location. The result was enough to bring him out of retirement.

“I was actually retired and living in Scottsdale, but I thought this was a great opportunity,” Brasher added. “I thought it was a great concept for Dallas because it’s been a great launching pad for many concepts over the years.”

Two additional Coconut’s locations are slated to open in Dallas, although Brasher and Schere are in negotiations on where they want to open. Brasher expects the third location to open later this year and the fourth to open in second quarter 2015.

Coconut’s also is weighing whether it will bring more locations to the Dallas area.

“I thought that four was the right starting market penetration for a concept of this nature,” Brasher said. “It’s fast-casual, but it’s high-quality and high-touch food. I think ultimately the market can support eight or more of these units.”