Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Todd Chase Joins Tijuana Flats as CFO

Orlando, FL  (Restaurant News Release)  Tijuana Flats, notorious for its fresh Tex-Mex food and mouth-numbing hot sauce, has named Todd Chase as Chief Financial Officer of the fast-growing 97-unit Tex-Mex restaurant chain. Chase, began his leadership for the organization this month.


As the CFO of Tijuana Flats, Chase brings 16 years of experience in finance and business administration and will be responsible for administering all financial functions for the company including finance and accounting, corporate tax and information technology.

“I’m excited to be a part of the Tijuana Flats team,” said Chase. “I look forward to taking a hands-on approach to this new position and working closely with all departments to continue to grow the brand.”

Chase was formerly a CFO at Buca di Beppo, a national Italian restaurant chain, and Senior Vice President of Finance for the parent company, Earl Enterprises, where he managed operation disciplines and restaurant efficiencies for brands such as Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich. He also held leadership positions for Universal Studios Resort and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Chase obtained his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Central Florida.

About Tijuana Flats
Established in 1995 in Winter Park, Fla., Tijuana Flats is a unique, fast-casual Tex-Mex dining experience featuring superior guest service and fresh, made-to-order food. Tijuana Flats has nearly 100 locations in Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The restaurants are typically found in high-traffic areas and average 2,200 square feet.

Since the restaurant first opened its doors in 1995, Tijuana Flats has used zero trans-fatty acids (TFA) cooking oils, 100 percent hormone free, white meat chicken, fresh produce and all of its menu items have been lard free. 

Customers can choose from flour or whole-wheat tortillas for any of their tacos, burritos, quesadillas, chimichangas and flautas. This restaurant also has a popular “Power Lite” selection, which allows customers to choose low-fat cheese and fat-free sour cream in any menu item. There is no charge for selecting a whole-wheat tortilla or Power-Lite.

Known worldwide for their own brand of hot sauces, Tijuana Flats Hot Foods Inc., a separate company, provides the restaurants’ specialty products, hot sauces and condiments, including one of the hottest sauces in the world, Smack My Ass and Call Me Sally…“Going Postal.” For more information about Tijuana Flats, including menu and locations, visit www.tijuanaflats.com.


AMF Music Festival Breaks Boundaries

The All My Friends Music Festival is calling all indie-music hipster fans south of the border to Tijuana for a full lineup of cutting edge acts. The festival's trinity: Argenis Garcia, Pablo Dodero and Marty Preciado have organized an innovative music festival that promises to break down borders by bringing together 30 music acts from Europe, Latin America, California and Tijuana under one roof on three different stages.


“We want to eradicate the notion of a border separating us,” Preciado says. “Through music and art, we can bring down borders and come closer through our passions.”

Last year was their first stab at booking bands from the U.S. This year's fourth edition of AMF has tapped into Europe's music scene by including the cheeky Estonian-born experimental pop artist, Maria Minerva. She recently tweeted, “Officially poor, got my first pair of shoes from Payless, got no kitchen, next purchase either raw food and/or Ja Rule's microwave cookbook.” How can you not love her? Minerva will definitely fit in with Tijuana's equally cheeky hipster crowd.

The punk Tijuanese will be in full mosh with Calafia Puta, Teenage Kicks, Biocrisis, Walle and Bonebreaker. Los Angeles alt-indie bands include, Deep Magic, Matthew Sullivan, and Geddes Gengras. Two ridiculously talented EDM artists to look out for are LAO and DJ Smurphy from Mexico City. If you're looking for the latest buzz band in Chile's music scene, check out Ases Falsos headlining at La Puerta stage.

AMF will also feature the innovators in Baja's Latin alternative music scene with Ibi Ego, Celofan, Ramona, Rancho Shampoo, Letters From Readers, Siete Catorce and Electric Healing Sound.

“We think they represent whats going on in Latin America, Europe, California and Tijuana, as far as independent music goes,” says Garcia.

“Every year comes with new challenges, we have to keep reorganizing and reinventing ourselves. As the music spectrum in our region keeps growing, including more genres is something we have enhanced this year to keep up with the needs of the festival.”

AMF is a promising leader in indie music festivals, not only in Tijuana, but for all of Mexico. Grab your backpack, park in San Ysidro, and grab a cab into Tijuana to experience high doses of transcultural, bilingual musical exchanges at Casa de la Cultura on Nov. 16. For complete lineup and performance times visit: AMF Music Festival.


http://www.nbcsandiego.com/blogs/sounddiego/AMF-Music-Festival-Breaks-Boundaries-232024501.html

Nissan, Mexico take their relationship to the next level


FORTUNE -- The inauguration this month of Nissan Motor's automotive assembly plant in Aguascalientes, its second in the town, marks the latest and most striking symbol of Mexico's growing status as a global automotive powerhouse.

Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto joined Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's CEO, on Tuesday to celebrate the start of vehicle production. The new factory, which will build Sentras headed mainly to the U.S., is Nissan's third in the country.
The investment by the Japanese automaker underscores Mexico's standing as fourth-largest exporter of vehicles worldwide, after Japan, Germany, and South Korea; and its status as sixth-largest automotive producer, having passed Spain and France in the last two years.
While southern U.S. states drew automakers away from Michigan, Ohio, and the Midwest starting in the 1990s, Mexico lately has become an ultra-competitive alternative location to Georgia, Alabama, and other southern states. And the auto industry has been a key factor in the growth of Mexico's middle class, which now includes more than half of its population.
"The reason Nissan is here is because Mexico is a highly competitive place to do business," Ghosn told reporters following a ceremony at the factory. "It's not just wages. The government supports us. Our suppliers are here. The transportation system is excellent."
That transportation system includes rail lines north and south. Nissan exports 70% of the vehicles it builds in the country. Ghosn said Nissan's Mexican plants are top-ranked in quality and efficiency among Nissan's 40 plants worldwide. Nissan soon could be building more cars in Mexico than in Japan.
The plant, a $2 billion investment by Nissan, has an annual capacity of 175,000 cars a year and employs 3,000 workers directly and 9,000 through parts suppliers.
But Nissan already is hinting that it intends to expand capacity at the Aguascalientes plant (the city's name refers to the area's "hot springs") as long as demand remains strong and other factors don't change. The assembly line in its current configuration can build four different vehicle architectures simultaneously and will operate six days a week.
Production is carried out as two work shifts of nearly 12 hours daily, six days a week. Thus workers put in about 48 hours over four days.
No expense has been spared for the latest manufacturing technology. Automated guided vehicles glide about the plant rather than fork lifts. The paint shop is so advanced, Nissan officials said, that journalists and other outsiders are barred.
The technological crown jewel, though, is likely the enormous high-speed transfer press, built by IHI of Japan. The press stamps car parts -- some as large as the entire side of a vehicle -- from metal blanks at the rate of 575 per hour.
Nissan chose Mexico as its first manufacturing base outside of Japan more than 50 years ago. Almost every other major automaker is manufacturing in Mexico as well, only in part because of low wages.
Worker's wages and benefits may be as low as $5 an hour in Mexico, compared to $50 an hour in some unionized plants in the U.S. Though this sum sounds preposterously small, it is regarded as an excellent salary due to the low cost of living and heavy government subsidies for many basic needs, like health care.
Happily for those workers who have snagged automotive jobs, the salaries are helping more and more families achieve middle-class status. Aguascalientes is dotted with residential neighborhoods, shopping centers, and paved highways -- all reflecting the prosperity that the auto industry has created.
But the rate of privately owned vehicles remains low in Mexico, compared with the rest of Latin America. The trends suggest that the cars Mexicans build soon will be owned by more of the workers that build them.

asa Dorada Los Cabos Sponsors the 2nd Baja International Film Festival

Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S, Mexico, November 14, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Casa Dorada Los Cabos Resort & Spa is proud to be among the sponsors of Baja International Film Festival 2013 (BIFF) starting today in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.


The celebrity-studded four-day festival will continue until November 16th showcasing dozens of cinematographic works by directors from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Aiming to create a bridge between the film industries of these three neighboring countries, BIFF explores reflective, daring and inspiring film proposals, and consolidates a platform for cultural exchange, trade and tourism for industry leaders.

Program includes the animated film Foosball, by Academy Award winner Juan José Campanella, as the opening film and premiere in Mexico, as well as the world premiere special presentation of Cafe Tacvba’s new documentary: The Object Formerly Known as a Record. The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry – a tribute to Gael García Bernal – and The Movie, by Gregory Allen, are also among the highlights of this year’s program.

The official competition section consists of eight features and documentaries from Mexico, Canada and the U.S., including Matt Johnson's Sundance winner The Dirties and Daniel Patrick Carbone's drama Hide Your Smiling Faces, which premiered at Tribeca.

Five films will have world premieres in Cabo San Lucas: Bering: Equilibrio y Resistencia, Filosofia Natural del Amo, Luto, El Charro Misterioso and Volando Bajo.

In addition to film screenings, there will be workshops, industry panels and a series of exclusive events, where movie lovers will be able to mingle with celebrities such as Charlie Sheen, Peter Greenaway and Oscar winner Juan Jose Campanella, among others.

“We are truly pleased to sponsor the Baja International Film Festival 2013 which brings a lot of excitement and enthusiasm to the area for film aficionados from across North America,” said Leonardo Perli, General Manager, Casa Dorada Los Cabos. “We look forward to offering the attendees of this exclusive event beautiful accommodations in the heart of Medano Beach.”

About Casa Dorada

With an incomparable location on Medano Beach--the best swimmable beach of Cabo, Casa Dorada is just steps away from world-class shopping, dining, entertainment, and the marina. As a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, a collection of the world’s finest independent luxury hotels, Casa Dorada Los Cabos brings the upscale service and family-friendly features to the Cabo San Lucas oceanfront. The Resort grants visitors a more convenient, yet equally spectacular, alternative to the more remote hotel zone of the Tourist Corridor. Boasting unobstructed vistas of Land’s End and the famous Arch, Casa Dorada is just 30 minutes away from Los Cabos International Airport. All of the 185 spacious one-, two- and three-bedroom suites and penthouses, open up to Los Cabos’ most dazzling ocean view, while the luminous and contemporary interiors ensure your comfort and satisfaction.


HERE'S HOW YOU CAN SEE RICKY MARTIN LIVE IN CONCERT... IN CANCUN!

Want to catch Ricky Martin live in concert? Of course you do!
 

Moon Palace (part of Palace Resorts, which has amazing properties you might have stayed at or want to stay at in Cancun, Playa del Carmen & Cozumel) is giving away a 3-night stay for two at the resort and VIP tickets to see Ricky Martin in concert when he performs on December 28. What else? You'll get an $800 air credit to use on Delta Air Lines.
The sweepstakes ends on December 4, so make sure you enter now! All you have to do is become a fan & “like” the Palace Resorts Facebook page and follow the on-screen instructions.

Ashley Benson: Cancun Getaway Before New Orleans

Ashley Benson keeps her head down as she arrives at LAX airport for a departing flight on Thursday morning (November 14).

“Off to New Orleans,” the 23-year-old actress tweeted before take off. She’ll be filming her guest appearance on Ravenswood with Tyler Blackburn.

Check out the latest pics of just the week before, Ashley headed down to Cancun with a few friends for a week long vacation at the Villa del Palmar Cancun. The group relaxed poolside, kayaked and enjoyed the gourmet restaurants around the resort.


Anna Trebunskaya Debuts Pregnant Bikini Body on Vacation in Mexico

Anna Trebunskaya is one stunning mom-to-be! Two months after revealing exclusively to Us Weekly that she's expecting her first child, the pregnant Dancing With the Stars pro showed off her bare baby bump in a bikini while vacationing with friends in Cancun, Mexico. 


The Russian dancer, 32, looked gorgeous and glowing as she soaked up the sun in a forest-green two-piece swimsuit with metallic accents. She and her pals have been relaxing for the last week at the Villa del Palmar Cancun Resort & Spa, where they enjoyed some paddle boarding and kayaking, among other activities.

"It was interesting because in the last six to eight months, I was saying to my friends, 'I'm ready for a change. I feel a change coming on,'" she added. "And sure enough, this is going to be one huge change!" 


The veteran DWTS pro declined to name the father of her baby-to-be, but said he was "very supportive." She also assured Us she'd be back on the dance floor once the baby is born.
"I'm looking forward to getting back into shape and dancing afterward and bringing the baby on board into the DWTS family!" she said.