Two Taco Del Mar Mexican-food outlets have closed here recently, one at 3007 E. 57th on the South Hill, and a second at 8801 N. Indian Trail, in North Spokane.

The owner of those two outlets, Frank Schoonover, who operates the franchises with his wife, Barbara, under their company AppleDog LLC, says the weak economy here was the main factor in their decision to close the stores.

The Schoonovers still operate a Taco Del Mar outlet at 12501 N. Division in a shopping center in the Wandermere area. Schoonover says they kept that outlet open because its sales were the strongest of the three locations.

"There is a lot of new construction there, so the store is positioned rather well," he says.

Schoonover says he started seeing a decrease in sales at the South Hill and Indian Trail stores in June 2009, which he attributed to the rising unemployment rate in Spokane County. He says he opened the Indian Trail location in 2007, which was the first of his three stores here.

He says he began to tighten his operating expenses at both the South Hill and Indian Trail outlet in March, but that after several months with no improvements in revenue, the couple decided to cut their losses and close both stores on Oct. 12.

Twelve employees were let go due to the closures. The Wandermere store employs five people, some of whom transferred from the closed stores, he says.

Early this year, Taco Del Mar Franchising Corp., which is headquartered in Seattle, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Schoonover says the Seattle company recently announced the completion of its sale to a subsidiary of the Subway restaurant chain—Milford, Conn.-based Franchise Brands LLC. Franchise Brands purchases struggling franchise corporations to get them back up and running, he says.

"The company now has a pretty good chance of surviving," he says.

Schoonover says it's possible that one of the closed outlets here might reopen under new ownership, but arrangements for that to happen haven't been completed. Currently, his leases for both of the closed stores are still in effect, he says.

"There are a lot of loyal Taco Del Mar customers in Spokane," he says. "We are just letting the dust settle right now."