Tex-Mex restaurant planned for North Trail

Once slated to become a Starbucks, the old El Pescador building on the North Trail will soon transform into a Tex-Mex restaurant.

The owners of Wicked Cantina on Bradenton Beach have bought the former Mediterranean restaurant for $850,000, with plans to open by the end of April — just in time for Cinco De Mayo. Co-owners Janice and Mike Dolan won’t expand the restaurant’s footprint, but plan to update the exterior of the building, which is located at 1603 N. Tamiami Trail.

“We have been wanting to expand and we’ve been looking all over and kept coming back to Sarasota,” said Janice Dolan, who with her husband has remodeled and sold at least 17 homes. “And we definitely wanted to own our building.”

The new location, which will feature at least 150 seats, will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, and have a full liquor license.

Dolan said the North Trail and downtown areas in Sarasota remind her of Austin, Texas, where she lived when the town was still up and coming beginning in 2005.

“Obviously we can see where this part of town is heading,” Dolan said. “It has such a great vibe — it’s becoming more foodie and younger.”

Starbucks and developer Casto Southeast Realty services scrapped plans for the location after receiving pushback from residents in the adjacent Tahiti Park neighborhood due to traffic concerns.

Dolan said she would be meeting with neighborhood representatives soon.

“We plan to be good neighbors,” she said. “We’re excited to get involved.”