Santa Fe Holding Co., Inc. (SFHD.OB) is the parent company of Santa Fe Cattle Co., a chain of 23 casual-dining restaurants in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee. During a recent interview, the company’s founder and chairman, Danny York, discussed the restaurant’s specific market niche and ultimate growth strategy for 2008 and 2009.

Santa Fe Cattle Co. caters to a specific niche within the steak restaurant business, with dinners priced in the $10 to $12 range, a sector that is not dominated by any one player. In this price range, Logan’s and Texas Roadhouse only operate a total of 600 locations nationwide, leaving a large portion of the market underserved and thereby creating tremendous growth potential.

Santa Fe Cattle Co’s segment of the steakhouse restaurant market falls between Outback Steakhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse, with dinners priced between $14 and $16, and Golden Corral and Ponderosa that charge between $6

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The name may sound funny, but the Little Sheep (0968.HK) restaurant chain is a business well worth your investigation. Little Sheep is a chain of 'hot pot' restaurants that is famous for its Mongolian-style mutton dishes. Little Sheep is a huge business in China. In 2006, it grabbed an amazing 11.8% of all the full-service restaurant business in China! There are currently around 350 Little Sheep restaurants around China, but the company will be using the IPO proceeds to finance an aggressive expansion plan. At 27 times 2008 earnings, it is a little pricey, so I would wait for a pullback. You will have to wait though because U.S. investors are not allowed to buy Hong Kong IPOs for 40 days.