Launched in Buffalo, New York in 1985 with only one employee, Bailey Seafood, born from George Kontras’ love of fish, quickly anchored itself as the area’s go-to spot for a fast and fresh dinner. Obsessing over quality and one-of-a-kind menu items not found anywhere else, the family owned business quickly grew, serving its famous Belly Busters and Haddock Super Sandwich to lines of hungry customers. By Jessica Jones
Launched in Buffalo, New York in 1985 with only one employee, Bailey Seafood, born from George Kontras’ love of fish, quickly anchored itself as the area’s go-to spot for a fast and fresh dinner. Obsessing over quality and one-of-a-kind menu items not found anywhere else, the family owned business quickly grew, serving its famous Belly Busters and Haddock Super Sandwich to lines of hungry customers.
A 2018 remodel and menu extension expanded the Bailey Seafood brand, adding 23 extra feet of open kitchen space to accommodate accumulating orders of hand-breaded fish, fresh salads and house-made sweet potato pies. The “choose your own fish and watch it being cooked” concept went national in 2019, as Bailey dipped its toes into the franchising waters. Today, ghost kitchens – facilities that are used to cook food and offer delivery and curbside pickup options to customers – and seafood boils have become big news for the acclaimed eatery, which is rapidly expanding its presence across the country.
“The new Bailey Seafood in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is slated to start construction soon and hopefully be open by end of this year,” noted Michael Kontras, who currently serves as president of Bailey Fish & Seafood, Inc. “This store will offer our full menu and will have delivery, take-out and outside seating.”
A Miami ghost kitchen Bailey Seafood also launched in November, sharing a kitchen with a taco franchise and featuring a smaller menu.
“We plan on opening more ghost kitchen concepts nationwide as restaurants are switching to take-out only,” Kontras explained. “We’ve been doing take-out for over 35 years and are positioned perfectly to expand with this smaller concept as it utilizes an existing kitchen, which keeps costs down.”
Homestyle dinners and seafood boils were another new Bailey Seafood addition in 2020, becoming a convenient and fully customizable bestseller when indoor dining was no longer a possibility.
“All franchises will be offering our core menu – fish fries, Super Sandwiches, seafood boils, Belly Busters, etc. – along with whatever local seafood is available in the area,” Kontras said of Bailey Seafood’s franchise model. “Most other seafood will be purchased directly from the processor, which will keep food costs down tremendously.”
For more information about franchising, visit baileyseafoodfranchise.net.
– Jessica Jones