It’s a common complaint that authentic Mexican food is difficult to find in Hawaii, but Lourdes Ricardez and her husband, Fermin Guzman, hope to change that with their new Aloha Tortilla Factory at Aloha Tower Marketplace.

The restaurant could open as soon as next month, offering breakfast and lunch, plus corn and flour tortillas made daily.

Ricardez grew up in the kitchen of the Mexican restaurant that her mother operated for 45 years.

The couple’s goal is to establish a tortilla factory in Honolulu, hence the brand name. They have equipment for a facility but have yet to find the ideal spot, so on the way toward the goal, they looked for a small restaurant space.

“We will make our tortillas fresh for the customers,” Ricardez said.

The walk-up, grab-and-go restaurant is just 490 square feet and will have a few tables outside, but it will primarily be for takeout.

Customers will be able to stop by in the morning for coffee and fresh Mexican bread. “My husband bakes it every morning,” she said.

Another pastry specialty is concha, a cookie-crust-topped sweet bread roll.

As for savory items, boxed lunches will include tacos with chicken, pork, beef or seafood (shrimp or fish), served with beans and rice. “Of course, we have beans and guacamole and Mexican sauce,” Ricardez added.

Vegan tacos will also be on the menu, as the tortillas are made without lard. “We want to introduce different, fresh, really fresh tacos.”

Ricardez said she and her husband will work to incorporate healthful ingredients that provide great flavor, noting that “everybody wants to eat more healthy.”

Food will be made fresh daily; “we (won’t) keep or save anything for the next day,” she said. This includes taco sauces offered from mild to spicy to suit varied palates and heat tolerances.

In addition, the couple will set aside a corner of the shop to display and sell Mexican handicrafts and specialty food products.

They love to cook and to entertain, and friends have repeatedly asked when they would open a restaurant. “In one month,” Ricardez and her husband would say. “We’ve been giving that answer for a year,” she laughed.

Now, with a space secured through broker Jo McGarry Curran, the planned opening of Aloha Tortilla Factory is mid-March, Ricardez said. Work on the ceiling and floor, installation of appliances and other tasks will keep them busy in the meantime.

Aloha Tortilla Factory will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

A new show for Simeon

Maui chef and restaurateur and “Top Chef” contestant Sheldon Simeon has a new show, though it is not on television or cable.

Simeon is the Season 2 host of the online series “Cooking in America,” produced by Eater, the all-things-food-related web portal.

Naturally, Hawaii, its food and chefs play the starring roles, next to the likable Simeon.

The first webisode (just over seven minutes long) shows Simeon and his father cooking for family in their Hilo hometown; the second (11 minutes) visits chef and restaurateur Andrew Le in Honolulu’s Chinatown.

It is important to note that while certain language cannot be uttered on broadcast TV and even gets bleeped out of cable shows, anything goes on the internet.

A new episode is uploaded each Tuesday. Go to 808ne.ws/sheldonshow.

Send restaurant news and notes to erika@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4303. Follow Erika Engle on Twitter @eriKaengle.