The Cheesecake Factory-owned Fox Restaurant Concepts is finally ready to unveil its newest location of Blanco Cocina + Cantina in the heart of San Diego's Coronado.
Fox Restaurant Concepts, the Arizona-based restaurant conglomerate majority owned by The Cheesecake Factory, has announced that a new 5,600 square-foot Blanco Cocina + Cantina will open later this month in the space that long housed Bistro d'Asia in downtown Coronado. This will be the second area location of the concept, with the first opened within Fashion Valley Mall in Mission Valley in summer 2018.
Blanco is a modern Mexican food restaurant that offers a menu of dishes that appeal to health-conscious diners, with options for nearly all dietary restrictions. Menu offerings include an array of Mexican starters like nachos and guacamole, as well as larger portion items like quesadillas, salads, over 10 taco options, fajitas, burritos, rice bowls, and enchiladas. The restaurant will also offer a full bar, stocked with a rich selection of tequila, wine, cerveza, and craft cocktails.
Fox Restaurant Concepts founder Sam Fox has owned more than 100 restaurants since dropping out of the University of Arizona when he was 20 years-old. Since launching in 1998, his Fox Restaurant Concepts evolved to over a dozen different restaurant brands, including North Italia, Flower Child, The Henry, and Blanco's Tacos & Tequila, which all have locations in San Diego. In summer 2019, the Cheesecake Factory purchased Fox Restaurant Concepts for $308 million - resulting in the sale of 45 restaurants across 7 states and Washington D.C.. The deal also included an additional $45 million to be due based on profitability over the next four years. Fox Restaurant Concepts claims it continues to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary from its headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona, and Sam Fox allegedly owns a home in Coronado and splits his time between San Diego and Arizona.
In March 2020 during the first phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, Sam Fox launched a GoFundMe campaign entitled "Fox Restaurant Concepts' Team Relief Fund." The crowd-sourcing campaigned raised nearly $90,000 of its half million dollar goal to "help furloughed employees", despite being owned by a company that generated approximately $2 billion in revenue worldwide in 2020. Fox Restaurant Concepts also ruffled feathers in San Diego after they failed to report employees testing positive for COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic when they were required to alert the County Health Department and public.
Fox Restaurant Concepts is also working on a location of Culinary Dropout live music bar & restaurant being built within Del Mar Highlands Town Center. There is also a second area branch of The Henry expected to unveil next year within The Forum shopping center in San Diego's North County city of Carlsbad. Due to his ties to San Diego, it is expected Fox Restaurant Concepts will continue to expand its presence throughout the county.
Blanco Cocina + Cantina is expected to open on Wednesday, July 17, at 1301 Orange Avenue in the heart of downtown Coronado. For more information, visit blancotacostequila.com.
