Eureka! Restaurant Group

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based Eureka debuted in 2009, and is set to open its fifteenth restaurant in Austin, Texas, in March. Paul Frederick, who co-founded Eureka with Justin Nedelman, said location is part of the concept’s branding. “We like to target ‘discovery’ markets, which are usually tech markets or university markets or up-and-coming urban markets,” he said. The company plans new restaurants next to the new Apple Inc. headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., and Frederick said the company is looking at a deal in Mountain View, Calif., near the Google Inc. campus. The company’s plans this year include two more restaurants in California, and a second restaurant in Dallas. Except for two early units, Eureka restaurants generally cover between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet and seat about 150 people. The company has financed its growth through investments by friends and family, Frederick explained. Early investors in Eureka live in Dallas, so that’s why the company expanded to that market so early, he said. Eureka also plans to expand its music-oriented bona fides by creating a pop-up restaurant in April at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif., and hopes to work with Austin City Limits in Texas.