Fuddruckers, an iconic, Texas-born fast casual brand, debuted its second Panama location with franchisee Isthmus Food Service, S. A. earlier this week. The 4,500-square-foot restaurant with seating for 126 is ideally situated at Panama City's Street Mall shopping center on Via Israel in the San Francisco/Punta Pacifica area. It joins Panama City's popular Metromall site, which opened in late 2014. The partnership plan with Isthmus Food Service, S. A. calls for the development of up to eight more Fuddruckers restaurants. Six are targeted for Panama, while the remaining two will be located in Aruba.

COO Peter Tropoli says, "We're excited to be expanding in Panama with our partners at Isthmus Food Service, S. A., who have revealed another prime location for our always fresh and never frozen 100 percent USDA premium-cut beef."

Fuddruckers' hallmarks include delicious, hand breaded onion rings and sought after, sesame-topped buns that are baked from scratch on-site throughout the day to achieve the perfect combination of crisp crust and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

While the new sites in Aruba and Panama will share Fuddruckers' signature look, legendary Build Your Own produce bar, and many menu items with restaurants in the U.S., some dishes, ingredients, and preparations will be introduced in each locale that reinforce a sense of place. In Panama City, highlighted specialties include corvine, a prized saltwater fish.