Marion Stampley, owner of MTS Enterprises, expects to have fiveTaco Del Mar restaurants up and running by yearend in North Texas.The two-year business plan calls for opening 25 to 40 restaurants,Rolando R. Leal, associate with Coldwell Banker Commercial inDallas, tells GlobeSt.com. He and CB's vice president Steve Grayare running the site search and lease negotiations for Stampley'srollout.

Leal says the search is focusing on 1,200-sf to 1,500-sf endcaps or inline space at power centers, grocery-anchoredneighborhood centers, high-density office and malls...any locationwith high visibility. The One Main Place's West Plaza space is onlyabout 1,000 sf, but the opportunity to start in a premier locationwas too good to pass up, he says of talks for the 1201 Main St.courtyard spot between two skyscrapers. Stampley's team isnegotiating five-year leases with five-year options or a standard10-year lease.

The Seattle-based chain is a Mexican grill, quick-service eaterywith 85 locations in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana,Oregon, Utah and Washington plus six in British Columbia, somecorporate-owned and some franchised sites. The first restaurantopened in 1992 on Seattle's historic waterfront district. Lastyear, 25 locations opened and 100 are planned for this year.