Chef Paul Schmidgall’s Focus Shifts to Expanding the Paella Catering Franchise

​More than a decade ago, Chef Paul Schmidgall brought his paella concept to Naples, and it caught on like wildfire. His catering food truck business was different than anything else the Naples area had to offer, and people couldn’t get enough. In no time, customers were lining up at the local farmers’ markets early in the morning to get a taste of his first batch of paella. Soon, the company began catering private parties at people’s homes and corporate functions. Now, you can find Fire & Rice at events throughout the region, including the PGA Tour.

​It wasn’t long before Chef Paul decided to franchise the business. His concept was so appealing that you can now find multiple Fire & Rice locations across the country. As the existing franchises continue to grow, the timing is right for Chef Paul to shift his focus to Fire & Rice franchise development. The next areas for expansion are in the Southeast and Midwest markets. Back in Naples, Colleen Connolly will manage Fire & Rice-Naples Original Paella. But, it’s not like you’ll never see Chef Paul again. He’ll still be involved! 

​Why Consider a Fire & Rice Paella Catering Franchise?

Fire & Rice is a very duplicatable, scalable business that has found success in a variety of markets throughout the US. As a franchisor, we provide you with all the tools that you need to run the business, and our training process is exceptional. The franchise owner of the Ann Arbor and Lansing locations, Nick Neveau, says, “The support that the franchisees receive from Paul is second-to-none…Phenomenal.”

Each new franchisee comes down to Naples for a month to learn the business and receive hands-on training. From paella preparation and catering to marketing and growing the business, each franchisee learns from our positive experiences as well as our mistakes. When franchisees return home and start up in their territory, they’ve been able to transfer this knowledge and hit the ground running. 

Our existing franchisees have varying business backgrounds; some are master chefs, while others have never cooked outside the home. They were all looking for a new opportunity and wanted to be in control of their destiny. And just like most people, they wanted to be excited to go to work every day!
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If you’d like to learn more about our paella catering franchise opportunities, call Chef Paul at (239) 269-8857 or visit our website to request information. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing our experiences.