Tikul Coastal Mexican, a new contemporary restaurant adding coastal flair to traditional Mexican fare, will open for business this month. The menu will include a Mexican tuna stack made with ahi, duck enchiladas with goat cheese, and braised short rib flautas. The drink menu offers margaritas, martinis and sangrias infused with jalapeño. The dishes will be influenced by coastal Mexican cities like Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta. Alberto and Renee Perez, owners of the new restaurant, moved to La Jolla from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in June 2009, but they grew familiar with the area on the many vacations they have taken here over the years. Renee, originally from the San Francisco area, loves living in La Jolla. It reminds her of the coastal life in Puerto Vallarta, she said. “We moved here with the intention of relaxing and that lasted about two weeks,” Renee said. The couple did not intend to start a business, but they soon changed their minds. They began by keeping an eye out for a good location in the Village for a business, Renee said. Upon hearing that the space at 1250 Prospect St., unit B-10 was available, the couple decided it was time to open a restaurant. Renee and Alberto are part of Grupo La Palapa, a restaurant group from Puerto Vallarta. Their new restaurant will serve as Grupo La Palapa’s first U.S. venture. “Grupo La Palapa has been owned and operated by my family for more than four decades in Puerto Vallarta,” Alberto said. Alberto was born and raised in Puerto Vallarta. A live Latin jazz band will play most weekends at the restaurant, and when there isn’t a live band, jazz music will play in the background. On occasion, Alberto will play acoustic guitar and sing with the bands as well. “We are going to have some commissioned oil paintings,’ Renee said. The paintings will be a tropical theme painted by David Villasenor, an artist based out of Puerto Vallarta. The ambience at Tikul Coastal Mexican is Tommy Bahama meets coastal, Renee said. “We are here for the long term,” she added. The couple has two children attending college in Boston. Their third child is completing her freshmen year at La Jolla High School. “We want to be in La Jolla to give La Jolla something fun and something fresh,” Renee said. “Our three restaurants are five-star, diamond restaurants,” said Renee of the group’s other restaurants located in Mexico. Tikul will be officially open to the public July 2, after its invite-only grand opening on July 1. It will, however, open its doors for business in the middle of June once construction on the site is complete, Renee said. Tikul, will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.