The California-based restaurant chain is among the new quick service restaurant concepts scouting for locations in the Twin Cities, including Bear Rock Café, Pot Belly, Pei Wei and a number of others, said Chris Simmons, vice president in Welsh Cos.‚ retail brokerage division.

Mike Givens and Denny Hecker will develop Baja Fresh franchises in the St. Paul-Minneapolis market. The restaurants are 3,000 sf to 3,500 sf. Givens, president of Four Crowns Inc., is a Wendy's International franchiser with more than 20 Wendy's restaurants opened or under construction in the Twin Cities. Hecker is a well-known Twin Cities auto dealer.

Baja Fresh features "fast casual" dining, touting high-quality Mexican-style cuisine. Its signature foods include fresh salsas, tacos and burritos. The 13-year-old chain has more than 260 restaurants in 27 states. Last year, Wendy's International bought Baja Fresh for about $275 million.