Captain D's Seafood Regional Director Turns Franchisee

If ever investors were in a position to make an informed decision about a Franchise opportunity, David Ostrowe and Rick Martin were in one.

Since 1995, Martin has been employed by Captain D's Seafood, working as a regional operations director in the company's Oklahoma City market. Last year, with the Nashville, Tenn.-based company leveraging its growing popularity and a host of aesthetic, operational and menu enhancements in an aggressive franchise expansion effort, Martin, along with his business partner, Ostrowe, seized the chance to become a Captain D's franchisee.

Martin and Ostrowe, Restaurant industry leaders with more than 35 years collective experience, have acquired four corporately-owned Captain D's restaurants in the Oklahoma City area and will operate them as franchises. Their company, Ostrowe & Martin LLC, will also be required to develop one more location in the market over the next 12 months, and has long-term plans to build additional units. Ostrowe will act as the company's managing partner, and Martin will serve as operating partner.

"I already had answers to many of the questions any well-prepared franchise candidate would ask," said Martin. "What's the company's track record? What return on investment can I expect? Are other franchisees in the system profitable? What support is available to the franchisees? Because I could answer these questions first-hand in very positive ways, coupled with the fact that Captain D's has posted record sales increases in eight of its last 10 years, making the decision to become a franchisee was very easy."

Under the terms of the franchise agreement, Ostrowe & Martin is being asked to retrofit the four existing Captain D's units with the chain's new décor, which recreates the allure of a dock-side seafood shack. The updated look includes naturally aged woods, hanging steel lights and a galvanized steel awning hanging over a portion of the dining room, as well as nautical artifacts and local navigational charts.

"This sends a pretty strong message about the strength of our Franchise Opportunity to other franchise candidates," says Darin Harris, Captain D's vice president of franchise development. "Based on his years working on this side of the company, Rick intimately understands our system, philosophies and vision. And the years of experience with other restaurant concepts that David brings to the picture only enhances our confidence that the two will thrive as franchisees. We are excited to have such a qualified team join our system."

Ostrowe has more than 15 years of restaurant-industry and franchise experience and currently serves as President of Ostrowe & Associates, an Oklahoma City-based search firm for restaurants and retail businesses. He previously held executive positions with a number of leading restaurant brands including RTM Restaurant Group/Winner's International, Church's Chicken/AFC and Morrison?s Fresh Cooking. Martin brings more than 20 years experience in multi-unit operations to the company. Prior to his tenure at Captain D's, he held various positions at such restaurant concepts as Hometown Buffet, Grandy's and Hickory Farms.

Captain D's current expansion plans are focused on markets in the Southeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions where it already has a significant number of restaurants, as well as emerging growth areas. The company's franchise opportunity gives multi-unit foodservice operators and other investors a fresh alternative to stale franchise concepts in highly competitive QSR categories; single and multi-unit development opportunities not available with other leading restaurant brands; and innovative restaurant prototypes designed to deliver sales-to-investment ratios that rank among the best in the QSR and fast-casual categories.