Music may be Don Pooh’s main bread and butter, but the Brooklyn, New York native has his eye on a tastier source of income with his new restaurant chain, Famous Seafood.
The franchise, which currently has three locations in New Jersey, Manhattan and Brooklyn, is the latest culinary venture for Pooh, who invested in and established five Papa John’s restaurants in New York City in 2003.
With a few years of experience under his belt, the decision to open a chain of restaurants proved to be a natural progression for the business mogul.
“After discovering that only two to four percent of proven franchises fail, it made great business sense to start my own,” said Pooh, who utilized his music industry management experience and prior restaurant knowledge to get his venture off the ground. “Upon assessing the marketplace, I realized there was a void in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry in the seafood segment.”
Famous Seafood marks a new chapter for Pooh, who established himself as a person to watch in the world of music.
As the head of Don Pooh Management and DP Music Group, the 11-year music industry veteran has played a major role in the careers of numerous artists, including the Notorious B.I.G., Foxy Brown, Shyne, Shaggy and Mary J. Blige.
His latest protegé, singer/songwriter Wynter Gordon, is scheduled to release her album this winter on Don Pooh Music Group’s joint venture with Atlantic Records.
As for Pooh’s food endeavors, Steve Sillion, a partner at investment firm New City Partners, believes Famous Seafood has the right components to become the next big eating establishment.
“We have no doubt that this concept has all the right ingredients for success,” he stated. “Famous Seafood could possibly be to seafood restaurants what Subway is to sandwich places.”
Plans are currently underway to open 15 Famous Seafood restaurants over the next 24 months, as the restaurant enters into several franchise agreements.