Dick Franyo spent 30 years as an investment banker for Alex Brown, among other firms, putting his Harvard MBA to good use. But he reached a point where he needed a change. “I can’t be a one-trick pony my whole life,” Franyo says.
A long-time Eastport resident and avid boater, Franyo has always had a love for the Chesapeake Bay. So, he opened his Boatyard Bar & Grill nearly two decades ago. “We wanted to do a maritime-oriented place in Eastport,” he says. “That’s where the boatyards are and we wanted to be very much a bay-, sailing-, and fishing-themed place.”
Boatyard has been a big hit over the years. It’s become one of the most popular restaurants in Annapolis because of the great food and the bay-friendly atmosphere. Its crab cakes have been named Best of Annapolis by readers of this publication multiple years. The restaurant ships them all over the country, including to Hawaii.
Delicious homemade soups, the Franyo Fish Sandwich, and Black ’N Blue Tuna are also customer favorites. The Boatyard is about more than just food. It has also become a significant charity platform. Franyo created and helps put on four annual fundraising events: Bands in the Sand, the Boatyard Beach Bash, Boatyard Opening Day Rockfish Tournament, and CRAB Regatta. “We use the business as a springboard for charitable things,” says Franyo, a board member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Annapolis Maritime Museum.
Recently, we sat down with the 75-year-old Franyo to talk about his life, restaurant, and love for the water. Executive Chef George Betz filled us in about the top-selling food items.
How would you describe the atmosphere of the restaurant and what sets it apart from others?
It’s lively. I have a really great architect. We spent a lot of time making a place that was fitting of being a maritime, Chesapeake Bay-oriented place. One of the reasons so many families love it is that they can come here and their kids can enjoy themselves and not be worried about telling them to be quiet. We have reasonable prices so that families can enjoy it. We sold 88,000 crab cakes last year so we are dominant in that area.
Talk about how the restaurant has expanded in the years since you opened.
It has grown every year. We are about the biggest, or probably the biggest, around in terms of size. We are lucky. We added a whole back area in 2007. We tripled the kitchen size. We added a bar, a raw bar, and a dining room with more seating. It’s our fishing and sailing area. It has fish hanging up.
Are you different than other places in so far that you have so many long-time employees?
We run our business in a very serious way. Employees who are really good want to work for a business like ours. Our people don’t leave here. We treat our customers, employees, and service providers well. We bend over backwards to treat our employees with respect. We do well, so our employees do well. We have a good number of people who have worked here 10, 15 years.
How have you kept the customers coming back year after year?
I think our food is very good. It’s consistent. Keeping our staff around is a key. Our food is priced well. Our place is very clean and we operate it very well. We like to run scared. We work very hard. We don’t take anything for granted. We take a lot of time training our people and put them through a power point presentation.
You are on the board of the Annapolis Maritime Museum and Chesapeake Bay Foundation. How and why did you become so involved with them?
I am an environmentalist. I wanted to help save the bay. I grew up around the bay and I saw that it wasn’t doing as well as it should. So, I got involved with both organizations early on. They are both connected to the bay and teaching about the bay. I really like that.
Why do you put on the big four fundraising events?
We wanted to raise a lot of money to support the environment and the bay. The bay is not in good shape. We really wanted our place to be a platform to do events. The events are really big. Since we have been doing these, we have raised, probably, over five million dollars. The events are all outdoors, and about sailing, fishing, and environment.
Tell me about your love of boating.
At first, I had power boats and then I had sailing boats. Now, I have both. I started in the 1980s. I have had big boats and small boats. Now, I have a 29-foot sail boat and the 25-foot bill boat with a center console that films the regattas and the Wednesday night races. I also have a smaller 17-foot boat we use to go down to the City Dock. I have owned 50-foot sail and power boats.
Chef George, tell me about the crab cakes that attract people to the Boatyard.
Hands down, the crab cakes are the best seller. We absolutely get the best crab meat available. It’s all 100 percent jumbo lump. We don’t cheat. There are no fillers. We handle them like a baby bird. It’s amazing how many crab cakes we put out.
What makes the soups special?
We make amazing soups from scratch. You name it, we make it. We feature Cuban black bean, lobster chowder, scallop chowder, and Mulligan.
What is a good under-the-radar dish?
Oysters Rockefeller. I recently went to New Orleans and Antoine’s. They have been there forever and invented it. I tried it and it was amazing. It’s so rich with five or six vegetables. We name it Antoine’s Oysters.
Antoine’s Oysters Rockefeller a la Boatyard
Makes 2–3 dozen oysters
Ingredients
- 2–3 Dozen Fresh Oysters
- 1/4 lb. Butter (melted)
- 1/4 Cup Peeled Shallot
- (rough chopped)
- 1 Cup Chopped celery
- 2 Whole Carrots (shredded)
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley (chopped)
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil (chopped)
- 1 Tbsp. Fresh Garlic (chopped)
- 2 1/2 lbs. Fresh Spinach (cleaned)
- 4 oz. Pernod (more or less to taste, I like more! Can substitute Anisette, Ouzo, or other anise-flavored
- liquor if need be)
- 1/2 Cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 Cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese & mozzarella mix (shredded)
Directions
1. All ingredients, except oysters, can be quickly rough chopped as we will puree mixture when cooking is complete. 2. In a large heavy sauté or braising pan, add butter and heat until it bubbles, add shallot, celery, carrots and sauté until soft. 3. Add spinach, basil, parsley, and garlic and sauté until spinach is wilted. 4. Carefully, as it is flammable, add liquor and reduce until almost dry. 5. Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl and add bread crumbs to absorb excess moisture. 6. Stir in cheese and salt and pepper to taste. 7. When contents of bowl are reasonably cool, add small batches to food processor and pulse until ingredients are of a rough/smooth consistency. Not too smooth. Let cool. Add cheese. 8. Shuck desired number of oysters and stuff each oyster with cooled spinach stuffing; enough to almost cover the oyster. Don’t pack down. 9. Place your oysters on a sheet pan, top with shredded mozzarella, provolone, gruyere, Swiss, or the cheese of your choice. You can also forgo the cheese and use a Hollandaise or Béarnaise sauce. 10. Place in 400 degree oven or under broiler until oysters are cooked and cheese and or spinach mix are just brown. Voila! Serve oysters over rock/Kosher salt with fresh lemon and your desired wine or Champagne.
