Less than a month after merging with Seaway Valley Capital Corp., North Country Hospitality is pushing ahead with an aggressive plan to expand one franchise and start another.
Christopher M. Swartz, chief operating officer of Seaway Valley, said the company has decided to franchise Good Fellos Brick Oven Pizza and Wine Bar, a Sackets Harbor eatery, and expand the Jreck Subs empire.
On Wednesday, Seaway Valley hired FransAction Inc., Florida, to develop a franchise package for Good Fellos, including operating manuals, new store prototypes and other aspects of a reproducible model, Mr. Swartz said.
He expects the Florida company to spend the next 60 to 90 days developing franchise options.
Mr. Swartz said Seaway Valley will start with one other Good Fellos restaurant. If that proves successful, the company will push forward with five to seven units over the next two or three years, he said.
He said attractive markets for the new franchise include Syracuse and the city's suburbs, Canton, Potsdam, Massena and along the St. Lawrence Seaway.
He said the idea of turning Good Fellos into a franchise had been batted around for some time. It was a concept that could be deployed rapidly in the wake of the recent merger, he said.
"We felt like the concept had a lot of legs," Mr. Swartz said.
He said the company was still examining how much such franchise initiatives might cost, but said a new store usually runs several hundred thousand dollars.
Good Fellos specializes in gourmet brick oven pizza as well as pasta dishes and salads. Although other franchises already have tapped into the Italian-style market, Mr. Swartz said he felt there was room for Good Fellos to thrive.
"I think the good news is, in our mind in the markets we're looking at, a lot of big competitors are not there yet," he said. "We think our model is strong enough to go out and build more."
Seaway Valley also is examining ways to push the Jreck Subs brand into new markets, he said. Mr. Swartz said the company would create three to six new sub locations this year and 10 to 12 total through 2009.
"We're actually going to get much more aggressive," Mr. Swartz said. "We think the timing is right for what we're doing."
