Emerging Brands Podcast

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