Houlihan's vs Palapas Restaurants Franchise Comparison

Houlihan's has been known for exceptional food at an affordable price since we entered the casual dining segment in 1972. Our menu features a great mix of contemporary pop American cooking - classic dishes reinvented in a fresh modern way and brought to the table with simple, stylish plating and presentations. And then there's the bar. It's always the best place to feel the great energy of Houlihan's. Our bar strategy unites pop culture, trendy premium brands, the newest drinks and vendor insights for a winning combination, resulting in an enviable liquor mix.

To help us more quickly expand to new markets and trade areas, Houlihan's is seeking sophisticated restaurant operators with experience building out entire markets. At this time, we are not pursuing single-site franchise agreements.

Our ideal candidate to become a franchise market developer is a successful full-service, multi-unit operator with expertise in one or more large markets (e.g. the top 75 MSAs in the United States). We are seeking entrepreneurial organizations that can thrive in our flexible franchise environment, while having access to growth capital and capital reserves, but experiencing growth constraints with their current restaurant concept(s).

Palapas Restaurant y Cantina is perched atop the Seascape Village and has been an institution in Aptos since opening its doors in 1990. Owners Mark and Kay Holcomb designed the space and menu with the goal of bringing home their beloved experiences vacationing on the coast of Mexico with their family throughout the 80s and 90s. ​Today we aim to capture that nostalgic vacation feeling while highlighting the natural beauty and bounty native to our own locale. This value is present in our locally sourced, fresh seafood, our commitment to local small purveyors, and even our design, which is built to offer an ocean view of the sparkling Monterey Bay from every single table.

Palapas brings the ambiance of tropical Mexico to the Monterey Bay area in a very unique way. In addition to featuring authentic traditional dishes of Mexico, our menu offers the fish, shellfish and sauces of the coasts of both Mexico and California. All of our dishes are prepared "A La Cocina Fresca”- "in the fresh kitchen method” a Spanish phrase that means exactly what it implies… freshly made sauces, handmade corn tortillas and fresh local seafood and produce prepared daily. In addition to creating a menu with many exiting choices, we’re committed to offering our customers healthy dishes with absolutely no use of any lard or animal fat in their preparation. We use rice-bran oil specifically for frying. Contains no trans fat!