The "fast casual" Mexican food chain Taco Del Mar is holding to a fast pace of expansion in Hawai'i, with plans to open five more restaurants by the end of the year for a total of nine in the state.

If realized, projected store openings would make Taco Del Mar one of the quicker-growing Mainland restaurant franchises in Hawai'i in recent years, and bring the company closer to a goal of opening 40 stores in Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan over seven years.

"We have aggressive plans," said Ken Nascimento, a local Subway store owner who is master developer for Taco Del Mar in Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan.

As master developer, Nascimento recruits franchisees to own and operate individual stores.

The first two Hawai'i Taco Del Mar restaurants opened late last year in Kunia and Kapolei, followed by two earlier this year in Moanalua and Waipi'o.

The next store is scheduled to open in Kane'ohe at Windward City Shopping Center in August, followed by one at Hawai'i Kai Towne Center around November.

Nascimento also said he's close to signing a lease in Kailua, Kona, on the Big Island and is in advanced lease negotiations for two stores on Maui.

"We're less than a year old, and we might have 10 stores by the end of the year," he said. "All of our stores have been well perceived. Having a good concept helps."

Nascimento said his aggressive pace of store development in Hawai'i has been encouraged by exceptional sales at existing stores — three of which he said consistently rank in the top 10 for weekly sales among roughly 260 Taco Del Mar stores nationwide.

The best-performing Hawai'i Taco Del Mar, the Moanalua store, is on pace for first-year sales of $800,000 to $1 million, and sometimes tops the weekly sales list for all Taco Del Mar stores, Nascimento said.

Taco Del Mar is among a growing field of popular fast casual Mexican restaurant chains that include bigger rivals Baja Fresh Mexican Grill and Chipotle Mexican Grill, which do not operate in Hawai'i.

Food industry research and consulting firm Technomic Inc. in Chicago defines fast casual restaurants as offering self-service or limited service, $6 to $9 average checks, attractive decor and innovative foods prepared to order and suited to more sophisticated tastes.

Taco Del Mar's growth in Hawai'i is fairly rapid compared with some other Mainland franchise food businesses that have entered the local market in recent years.

California-based Wahoo's Fish Taco opened its first locally franchised restaurant in January 2006 at Ward Centers, but difficulty finding prime real estate combined with rising rents and other costs have inhibited opening additional stores. Instead, the company recently launched lunch-wagon service.

"It's so expensive to expand," said Stephanie Pietsch, co-owner of Wahoo's in Hawai'i. "We are doing very well with this concept in Hawai'i and are looking at a few locations."

Krispy Kreme entered the Hawai'i market with its first doughnut store in 2003 on Maui, but the Chicago-based franchisee also has not expanded further.

In 2001, a local franchisee opened six Dunkin' Donuts stores on O'ahu in a year and had plans for more, but was forced to close the stores because of financial trouble in part linked to other businesses.

Cold Stone Creamery entered Hawai'i in 2002, opening three locations in 18 months. Today, there are about 14 local Cold Stone stores.

Others, such as Starbucks and Jamba Juice, have expanded much faster than Taco Del Mar. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has added 14 stores in about 18 months, including several inside Foodland Super Market stores owned by the same company operating Coffee Bean in Hawai'i.

According to www.Entrepreneur.com, Subway and Dunkin' Donuts are two of the top three fastest-growing franchises.

Taco Del Mar is a relative newcomer to the business. The Seattle-based company was established in 1992, and began franchising in 1996.

The chain has tried to build a following with 24-ounce "mondo" burritos, Alaskan cod fish tacos and other menu items in stores with surf-themed decor. Today there are about 260 stores, and the company projects adding 100 stores this year.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.