On this episode of Emerging Brands, Mark Setterington, President and Chief Executive Officer of Island Fin Poke Company talks about taking a leap of faith, creating a restaurant brand from scratch, and the importance of feeling welcomed like family at his restaurants. Setterington shares how he met Paul Reas at Bahama Breeze fifteen years ago and how their friendship would bring them together to create Island Fin Poke Company. He tells the story of Paul quitting his job, heading to meet Setterington in Las Vegas where he was working at the time and the impact a road trip dedicated to eating would have in their menu. All of the recipes for Island Fin Poke were developed in Setterington’s home and tested by friends and family. Setterington spent nine weeks in Hawaii and never had poke, his love for Hawaii came from the culture because it is all about family. He treats his vendors, guests and franchisees. Setterington says, when they decided to do their own thing it was about building a lifestyle, not a job. He wanted to spend more time with family and playing golf, so he said, they decided on fast-casual. Zero complexity was the mission. Even though Setterington had planned to have two or three restaurants after opening his first in Orlando Florida, he soon realized that they had a great opportunity for a franchise brand. He discusses the steps to becoming a franchise, what is involved in making those changes and the importance of being a good partner to franchisees. Tune in to the podcast to learn about Island Fin Poke’s company culture, their plan for expansion in the future and the advice Setterington would give himself during the conception of Island Fin Poke.