Top 100 Mover and Shakers

17. Taco Del Mar, Seattle

Taco Del Mar has a unique mascot named Carlos, a sombrero-wearing fish holding a surfboard, who is now the face of one of the fastest-growing restaurant concepts in the world. Using a master-developer program, its restaurant count mushroomed from 111 restaurants to 211 in 2006. In fact, another store may have opened in the 30 seconds it took you to read this blurb.