Coconut's Fish Cafe, a fast casual restaurant based in Maui, is coming to Sacramento, reports Sonya Sorich in Sac Biz Journal.

Coconut's serves items such as salads, fish tacos and entrees that combine fish and brown rice. "This is all about eating healthy with profiles and flavors that really explode," Phillips said. He prides himself on a "California cuisine take on Hawaiian culture food." The casual restaurants cover about 3,000 square feet and have an island theme.

Coconut's currently has four locations: two in Texas, and one each in Hawaii and Arizona. Phillips said he's sold 11 franchise locations, with more on the way.

Read the entire story in the Sac Biz Journal.

Lest you think the restaurant is mediocre a Wahoo's copycat, the restaurant has received high scores for its food, including a 27/30 from Zagat. As a point of reference, The French Laundry received a food score of 28/30 from Zagat.

The owners hope to open a location by the end of the year.

Disclosure: My wife used to work with a member of the family who owns and runs the growing chain.

More News:

News on MARRS - Over at the neighboring Block Butcher Bar, you can expect a slightly revamped menu coming soon....Now, A llyson Harvie is the culinary director of Block and LowBrau, and she’ll be adding a few new dishes on top of two desserts she started serving a few weeks ago. Harvie has held posts at formidable San Francisco restaurants, such as Citizen Cake, Ragazza and Absinthe. Janelle Bitker in Sac News & Review.

Garden to Grill: Step up your meatless game - While the savories are hit or miss, the baked goods are really pretty good. Enormous “Creamies” feature two large cookies sandwiching a vegan “cream” filling. The chocolate-mint version is a satisfying pairing. A creamsicle-flavored cupcake one day had vanilla filling and a light orange-flavored frosting. One benefit of gluten-free baking is that sweets are usually quite tender. Ann Martin Rolke in Sac News & Review.

Starbucks says it won't close Downtown Plaza store, for now - Despite the many business closures in the works, it appears Sacramento's Downtown Plaza will continue to offer a caffeine fix, at least for the time being. Sonya Sorich in Sac Biz Journal.