Wyoming-Based On The Hook Fish And Chips Empire To Expand, Sell Franchises

When Ocean Andrew started his popular On the Hook Fish and Chips food truck in Laramie, Wyoming, he had no intention of franchising the concept.

He had always expected to grow the business beyond Wyoming, but thought keeping On the Hook a corporate chain would be the way to go.

But as his territory has grown since it opened in 2014 with 13 trucks that operate in 17 different states, including Wyoming, Andrew said he’s realized something else — something that made him change his mind about franchising.

“Building that infrastructure, building the whole organization, is very, very difficult,” Andrew told Cowboy State Daily. “And what we’ve done so far, I think we’ve done well. But we felt that it was out of our capacity to keep doing that. It would just become more and more hard, and we were worried that the quality might suffer.”

As he thought back to what made the business fun in the beginning, it was having boots on the ground in a community, and getting to know customers well.

“That’s really what franchising does,” Andrew said. “You have people who own it really close to what’s happening and close to customers.”

So, Andrew’s company is taking the plunge to get to the next level, and will soon offer franchises in states all across America.

Right now, the franchise is only available where the company is duly registered, Andrew said, but he is pursuing registration across the United States, and eventually he envisions the company having franchises in every state from New York to Texas, California and Wyoming, and all points in between.

In the meantime, the first franchise has already been sold in Northwest Montana, and discussions are already underway for other new locations.

There will be two kinds of franchises. The main type will be a district with two trucks, with a building to park in at night and an office. The other will be more of a rural setup with just one truck.

Skipping The Summer Walmart Job

On the Hook Fish and Chips started as a way for two University of Wyoming students to avoid working at Walmart for the summer.

The original concept was simple. They were going to sell one basic thing: Andrew’s father’s fresh, line-caught Alaska cod, beer-battered with thick-cut French fries — classic fish and chips.

The concept didn’t only get them out of working at Walmart. It was such a big hit, it ultimately became the career Andrew had been dreaming of when he decided to pick the University of Wyoming to earn an energy-related degree.

“I was trying to do that so I could make good money to start a business eventually,” Andrew told Cowboy State Daily. “And that was always kind of my passion was owning a business and running something on my own.”

So, he and a college friend went into business together with a refurbished FedEx truck they bought in Denver.

As co-founder Hunter Anderson tells it, Ocean asked Anderson what he was doing for the summer. When Anderson said he’d probably work at Walmart, Andrew said he had a better idea.

Start a food truck with him, selling the wild Alaska cod his father line-catches in Alaska.

At first, Anderson refused, fearing the food truck would probably fail. But eventually he came around, and he helped Andrew taste test more than 50 recipes for what is still their signature crispy-crunchy, beer-battered fish.

Although Hunter and Anderson have continued to try different recipes, even visiting England and coastal cities to try the fish and chips there, they have yet to find a better recipe.

Their original has stood the test of time.

Nearly Over After A Day

Their first day of business was almost the last.

The truck’s propane tanks went out, and they had seriously underestimated just how many people would want to buy fish and chips from their fledgling business.

With some help from other local food trucks, they made it past the first day, barely.

Right off the bat, they decided they needed to simplify their menu if they were going to stay in business.

“We were trying to do tacos and coconut shrimp and fried shrimp and all this stuff,” Andrew recalled. “And we found out it’s a lot harder to run a kitchen than it looks.”

So, they cut the menu back to just fish and chips, all day every day.

However, now that they’re franchising, Andrew said the company is rethinking a few things. That includes the menu.

“As things are being very well run right now, I think the franchises will be able to manage doing a few more things,” he said. “So, we’re starting to add a couple of things, like we’ve just started releasing coleslaw at a few limited locations to test that, and we’re doing private-labeled sodas. We have a strawberry soda that we’re going to have on all the trucks as well. So, we’re testing a few things. We’re trying to have a bit more variety, but in a way that we can manage and not ruin the quality of anything else.”

Fresh, Line-Caught Alaska Fish

One of the things that won’t be changing is the thing that truly sets On the Hook Fish and Chips apart from all others. That’s the quality of the fish, and that’s because of how these fish are caught.

All of On the Hook’s fish are individually line-caught, and every fish is processed and flash frozen within an hour of being caught.

Nets are never, ever used. The problem with net-caught fish, Andrew told Cowboy State Daily, is that the fish often go into rigor mortis before they can be processed. In addition, the fish are subjected to more stress before dying, which affects the taste and quality of the meat.

There’s something else that makes these fish particularly special though.

The fish are caught by Ocean Andrew’s dad, Shaun Andrew, who is captain of the 187-foot Northern Leader and owner/operator of Alaskan Leader Fisheries. The ship was featured on an episode of Discovery Channel’s “Mighty Ships.”

During the episode, the crew fished right through a hurricane.

Andrew told Cowboy State Daily the show was meant to showcase the high-tech aboard modern, seafaring ships like the Northern Leader. But it also offered a glimpse into just how dangerous a job it is to catch fish for American tables.

Another television show that offers a glimpse into the seafaring life of the Northern Leader and her crew would be Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” which follows the life of Alaskan crab fishermen. They fish some of the same waters as the Northern Leader.

Andrew told Cowboy State Daily that his parents had always talked about doing a restaurant that served fish and chips using their own line-caught Alaska cod.

“But we never did it,” he said. “So, we were sort of in the middle of when food trucks, there was just this huge upwell in popularity, and there were even people doing it in Laramie.”

That made shifting the idea into a food truck a natural.

No More All Blue Trucks

One of the other changes customers are going to notice now that the company is franchising is that the color of the trucks will change.

While they had been two layers of sky and ocean blue, now they’re going to be bright sunshine yellow over an ocean blue wave at the bottom. That will make the trucks much more visible.

The logos will be a little bit different too, to bring more focus to the brand.

But one thing that will never change, Andrew told Cowboy State Daily, is the line-caught Alaska fish that his company uses.

“We are one of (Alaskan Leader Fisheries) largest customers, but we don’t even make a dent in all the fish they catch,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “I mean, their boats are huge and there’s four of them, and they work year-round.”

That means there will always be plenty of line-caught Alaska cod to go around, no matter how big On the Hook gets.

Reaction to On the Hook’s Facebook announcement it is now offering franchises was overwhelmingly positive this week. Many of those commenting recommended their own states and towns for a franchise.

“When are you coming to Grand Forks, ND?” Kristine Stanislowski asked.

“I sure hope someone in Sioux Falls takes this great opportunity, it’s a sure thing here!!!!” Linda Olson Elhassy wrote.

“Franchise to Texarkana, Texas ….. We need a good fish and chips here!!!” Yvonne Danielle Rivers wrote.

Customers waiting in line for fish and chips in Casper on Tuesday seemed equally excited about the announcement.

“I first found them at the eclipse,” Laurie Fletcher told Cowboy State Daily. “They were so good and fresh. We try and see them when they come to town.”

Fletcher felt the food is a “cut above” what others serve.

“And they are really nice people,” she added.

Devon Hay and Karen Kling were trying the fish and chips for the first time after seeing the post on Facebook.

“It looks really good,” Hay said.

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.