Michael’s Seafood floats new express model - Greater Wilmington Business Journal

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A longtime fixture in Carolina Beach's restaurant scene is making moves – literally – with a new food trailer and plans to grow the business's footprint through franchising opportunities.
 
Michael's Seafood Restaurant rolled out its new mobile food trailer, Michael's Seafood Express, in November. With stops scheduled in Carolina Beach, Leland and Wilmington over the next month, the trailer will bring an assortment of the restaurant's best-selling items to diners at events around the community.
 
After buying the trailer this summer, owner Shelly McGowan tapped a local fabricator to transform the mobile unit into a functional and fully branded "kitchen on wheels."
 
"Noticing the popularity of food trucks and trailers at the festivals we were already attending, we knew it was a great idea," said McGowan. "We wanted to do this right and make it something to be proud of, so we customized the inside and out."
 
With faux wood siding and raffia grass border circling the top of the trailer, the exterior design mimics the tiki atmosphere of the original Michael's Seafood Restaurant. While many food trucks rely on fryers to streamline food production in cramped quarters, the kitchen aboard Michael's Seafood Express was specially designed to accommodate on-site production of some of the fresh seafood classics that customers of the original restaurant have come to expect.
 
"We have been known for fresh and not fried seafood so we will be keeping that standard on our food trailer," McGowan said.
 
In addition to crab dip and shrimp cocktail, Michael's Seafood Express will serve the restaurant's award-winning seafood chowder. Scallops, clams and crabmeat swim in a rich, cream-based broth flecked with potatoes, carrots, peppers, squash and zucchini in a recipe that earned top honors at the Great Chowder Cook-Off in Newport, Rhode Island in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
 
Options for the main course include lump crab cakes and shrimp and grits, plus handheld items like a fresh catch BLT with French tartar sauce or seafood tacos stuffed with shrimp or fish and topped with cabbage salad, pico de gallo and a drizzle of ranch dressing.
 
With an eye on future franchising opportunities, McGowan has set her sights beyond a simple circuit of the Wilmington area. After roughly 25 years of operation from its spot at 1206 N. Lake Park Blvd., Michael's Seafood is hoping to grow into new locations under the express model debuted in the food trailer. McGowan intends to use Michael's Seafood Express trailers to introduce new markets to the concept for expansion into other brick-and-mortar locations in nearby cities and states.  
 
The first step for McGowan is testing her plan in a new Wilmington brick-and-mortar spot and using that experience to fine-tune her franchising approach for other locations.
 
"We are aggressively seeking our first location in the Wilmington area to create our flagship express model. Once we are happy with our first location, we plan on opening franchising opportunities to the public," McGowan said.
 
Michael's Seafood Express is scheduled for the following local stops over the next month:
  • Dec. 21, 6-9 p.m. at Good Hops Brewing, 811 Harper Ave., Carolina Beach
  • Dec. 31, 7 p.m. until midnight at the Island of Lights New Year's Eve Celebration, Carolina Beach Boardwalk
  • Jan. 4, 5-8 p.m. at Brunswick Beer XChange, 113 Village Road NE, Leland
  • Jan. 14, 1-4 p.m. at Edward Teach Brewery, 604 N. 4th St., Wilmington
  • Jan. 18, 5-8 p.m. at Brunswick Beer XChange, 113 Village Road NE, Leland

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