Surf burgers meet tacos on rising Westside

Andrew Edwards

Like a general, Jim Kalatschan, has a map that he uses to plan his

next conquest.

Kalatschan, 42, started T.K. Burgers near Newport Pier in 1987. He

didn’t expand until 1995, when he opened his second store in

Huntington Beach. Over the past year, his business doubled with the

launch of two restaurants in Costa Mesa. The newest store opened

about two weeks ago on the Westside.

“We’re looking to expand,” Kalatschan said. “Whenever a good

location comes up, we’re going to take it.”

Kalatschan’s map is marked to show where Wahoo’s Fish Taco has

opened up shop, he said. Kalatschan met and became friends with Mingo

Lee, Wahoo’s chief executive, when their children began attending the

same preschool.

Lee and his brothers started Wahoo’s on the Westside in 1988, when

they opened their first restaurant on Placentia Avenue. Lee’s company

has expanded at a more accelerated pace than Kalatschan’s -- more

than 30 Wahoo’s spots are open now -- and he gives Kalatschan tips on

how to get bigger.

“I try to help him avoid any pitfalls I may have gone through,”

Lee said.

Both chains have similar, surf-inspired images. Wahoo’s customers

are surrounded by stickers and posters connected to the surfing and

skating scenes. T.K. Burgers’ walls are covered with photographs of

local surf spots.

If T.K. Burgers continues to grow, one of Kalatschan’s challenges

will be keeping the store’s image intact as locations sprout up

farther inland and too far apart for him to regularly visit them all,

Lee said.

“As he keeps on rolling, he won’t be there, so he needs to leave

the ghost of Jim,” Lee said. “You still want to put forth in his

place [that] you’re the surf burger shack.”

As for T.K. Burgers’ newest location, Kalatschan chose 19th Street

because he’s betting that Westside redevelopment efforts to attract

other businesses and more residents will be successful.

“The future’s bright for this area,” he said.

The city’s Westside Redevelopment Oversight Committee, a group of

40 homeowners and commercial and industrial property owners that has

compiled recommendations to revamp the Westside, released a plan for

their strategies last month. The plan is scheduled to be brought

before the Costa Mesa Redevelopment Agency on Tuesday.

The committee recommended in October that zoning rules be changed

to allow mixed-use commercial and residential buildings on the south

side of 19th Street and new commercial and industrial buildings on

the north side. The 19th Street corridor is currently zoned for local

business.

The plan also recommends that rules for residential areas around

19th Street be changed to allow for construction of more homes and

condos.

If new houses become available, Kalatschan said he expects people

will be anxious to buy houses in a neighborhood near the beach before

real estate becomes too expensive.

According to the plan, new regulations for 19th Street could be

approved by the City Council as early as November. New zoning rules

for the residential area around 19th Street could be proposed three

to four months after the council authorizes city staffers to craft an

amendment to the zoning code.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624.