Fast casual has made leaps and bounds since 1968, when the bleary-eyed masses could sate their hunger with a 49 cent Big Mac. Since then, price points have soared, but the options (with plenty more health-minded choices available) are near limitless, from local chains like Verde and Kairos and Ladles to national choices like Chipotle and Panera and Zoes Kitchen.
[content-6] They’re not sexy, these order-at-the-counter joints — no reservations or dress code. But, when you’re starving and in a hurry, they get the job done. Plus, if you’re lucky, your 30 minute mid-January lunch break will include a taste of a place far, far away (and a pina colada).

College of Charleston alums Jen and Mike Seltzer want to provide everyone from busy parents to lawyers to students a taste of that far away land with fast casual franchise Maui Tacos. Their 200 Meeting St. location — which hosts a soft opening Wed. Dec. 5 and a grand opening Thurs. Jan. 17 — will be the first mainland location to open with the full support of the chain’s owners (there’s a Monroe, La. location already open, but they signed their lease after the Seltzers, for the record).

[location-1]

Opened in 1993 by famed Hawaiian restaurateur Mark Ellman, Maui Tacos has been rated one of the top Mexican restaurants in the country by Zagat. According to an April 2018 Business Journals article, a dozen stores will open in 2019, with Hawaiian locations in Maui, Oahu, and Hilo, and mainland locations ranging from North Carolina to Oregon.

So how did this Lowcountry couple — with a combined background of real estate, food and bev, and quality control for a prestressed concrete company — acquire this little piece of Hawaiian/Mexican heaven?

[embed-1]
“We were by ourselves in Ohio — my parents were in Florida, my brother is in Mexico, we said ‘why are we still here?,'” says Jen, an Ohio native. The couple had relocated to the Midwest a few years ago when their children were little, both working for her family’s small concrete company that would eventually sell to a huge corporation which, Jen says, “had no soul.” “We decided we would never work for someone that didn’t value employees and customers and customer service,” she says.

When the couple found out about Maui Tacos (they’ve been to Hawaii several times for vacation, and Jen’s brother was married in Hawaii), they knew that the company, which is still run by the same creative team even after 25 years, shared their vision: make good food, serve it quickly, and treat everyone with warmth.

In advance of securing their Charleston franchise, Jen and Mike traveled to Hawaii for two weeks and worked — from front to back of house — in several Maui Taco locations. “Even though it’s a franchise, we get a lot of creative liberties,” says Jen. “The menu will be the same, but for decorating and personality, they want the franchisee to be very active. And that’s why we liked it, too. We wanted something we could work, not just be up here running a bunch of stores, we want to be in it.”

Mike brings his knowledge of the service industry to the table, while Jen offers advice from a more managerial perspective. “My first job was, I was 15 years old in Summerville at Buddy’s Seafood dealing with hot baked potatoes and making side salads,” says Mike. From there he went on to work for 25 years in fine dining in the city, so working in a casual place will be a new challenge, one Mike says he’s ready to meet with the philosophy he’s always possessed: quality customer service.

“Charleston doesn’t really have a name for it,” says Mike, referring to the open-arms hospitality of aloha, a word that encompasses both a simple greeting as well as a deeper cultural significance. “It’s a kind of service that’s ‘no worries, we can take care of this,'” says Jen. “It’s not in your face.”

This October, we wrote about another Mexican-leaning joint, Pink Cactus, set to open by the end of the year on Spring Street. We mentioned Maui, along with Semilla, Papi’s Taqueria, Azul Mexicano, El Pincho, Rebel Taqueria — the tortillas roll on. But Maui Tacos, the Seltzers claim, is something else entirely.

For starters, it’s counter service fast casual, and it’s also not all about tacos (a misnomer, really — the couple says main plates and burritos are the heart of the kitchen). “Maui Burrito just didn’t have the same ring,” laughs Mike. The menu is imbued with elements of fresh, island ingredients (think pineapple, mango, slow-cooked Hawaiian barbecue), along with requisite Mexican eats like churros, guac, and enchiladas. Every meal comes with chips, and there’s a salsa bar in the middle of the restaurant where customers add a little extra flavor with “Hula Heat,” “Hola Aloha,” “Pineapple Passion,” and more. The couple says they’ll source most of their products from Restaurant Depot (like other Maui Tacos) but will use local ingredients whenever possible.

There are also tiki influences on their cocktail menu, with daiquiris, mai tais, and a pina colada. For teetotalers, the Seltzers say they’ll have fresh made strawberry and lime juice and horchata — “we’ll encourage people to choose that over the soda,” says Mike.

If any of these offerings remind you of a Chipotle or Moe’s, Mike assures us that Maui Tacos is not the heat lamp hurry-through spot you frequented in your college days. “We have fish, shrimp, all of our proteins are made to order — it’s put on the grill when you order it, but will still be out in five minutes, we’ve got a system down.” Plus, Moe’s and Chipotle don’t have their own Alfonso.[content-8] Part of the business from the get-go, Jen says vice president and executive chef Alfonso Navarro, “is the man. I’m not sure how he can possibly sleep.” He’s too busy hand bottling all of their special sauces that they sell in every Maui Tacos restaurant. Jen says the food, or at least the menu items she chooses, are healthy-ish and filling. “If you eat a meal at 10 a.m. (they have breakfast items too) you won’t be hungry all day.” And for Mike, who admits “he’s not as health conscious” there are plenty of ways to “pig out.”

Hoping to cater to tourists on foot (they’re a stone’s throw from several hotels), as well as local businesses and college kids, Maui Tacos may not be on the top of your list of foodie destinations when you first visit the city. But after a while, when you’re in a hurry, a grilled fish surf burrito and Mai Tai may sound like just the ticket, all the warmth of aloha welcoming you in, no heat lamps included.

Help keep the City Paper free.

No paywalls.
No newspaper subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations from downtown to North Charleston to Johns Island to Summerville to Mount Pleasant.

Help support independent journalism by donating today.