Meet the franchisee of sushi place How Do You Roll?

How Do You Roll? announced this month that the Austin, Texas, based chain wants to open in University Park as part of of Florida expansion. The chain has 10 locations in the U.S., including Gainesville and Sunrise. Photo provided 

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/12/11/4882152/sushi-chain-how-do-you-roll-looking.html#storylink=cpy

Texas-based custom sushi shop called How Do You Roll? wants to come to University Park, and after we ran the announcement Dec. 11, I received a call from the restaurant's franchisee.

Better late than never, so I thought I'd at least pass along some more details thanks to the franchisee Chris Martin.

Martin lives in Fort Myers where he is a franchisee for Five Guys Burgers and Fries in that area. He said he wanted to do a new restaurant concept similar to How Do You Roll and found out that they already perfected the idea in Austin, so "I decided there was no reason to reinvent the wheel."

One of the things he likes about the chain is the branding and the warm atmosphere thanks to the employees.

"It's a comfortable atmosphere where you can spend some time at," Martin said. "The staff is really friendly, they're there to greet you at the door and guide you."

While he likes eating sushi from Publix in the evening, he knows it's been setting out for a few hours, and How Do You Roll gives a fresh alternative, he said, as well as giving people the option to use grilled chicken or beef instead of raw tuna.

Ideally, he wants to be near the new Mall at University Town Center when it opens Oct. 16, 2014, and is shooting for a fall 2014 opening himself.

"The University Parkway corridor is certainly one of the hottest parts in Florida as far as real estate now," Martin said. "There are lots of good spots around Tampa area and that's one of them."

Martin is also looking to open How Do You Roll in Estero at the Gulf Coast Town Center, in Naples at the Mercato shops and near University of South Florida's campus in Tampa.