our team

James Flanigan

PARTNER & CEO

James has worked in the restaurant industry since he was an early teenager, shadowing his father, Paul, and helping out with odds and ends around the Quarterdeck and other local bars and restaurants. He has worked from the proverbial ground floor up and has worked – or at least moonlighted – in every position in the front and back of the house. James’ career with Quarterdeck and in the industry continued through high school, college, and even law school.

A Fort Lauderdale native, James graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in Accounting, and from the Florida State University College of Law. During college and law school, he worked in the federal trial court in Philadelphia, the state appellate and trial courts in Tallahassee, and also in different restaurants and bars in and around the Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee area. James practiced law for almost four years in Fort Lauderdale at the law firm of Tripp Scott. His practice focused mainly on commercial litigation, bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings.

James lives in downtown Fort Lauderdale and plans to plant his roots in the area even further. His love for the bar and restaurant business, along with his eclectic background, eventually led him back to the hospitality industry and to form Old School Hospitality with Paul, Frank, and Joe. He now handles the day-to-day legal and accounting work for Old School Hospitality and its subsidiary restaurants from our corporate office in Fort Lauderdale.

Paul Flanigan

PARTNER & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

The patriarch of the Old School family, Paul purchased Quarterdeck from Flanigan’s Enterprises, Inc. in 1986, and he partnered with Flanigan’s for close to a decade, opening and managing a number of Flanigan’s Seafood Bar and Grill franchise and company units. He opened a second Quarterdeck Seafood Bar & Neighborhood Grill on Fort Lauderdale Beach in 1995 and then he soon partnered with Frank Zaffere to open six additional Quarterdecks in Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties from 1997 through 2004. Paul and Frank teamed up to design, create, and open Dive Bar Restaurant in Jupiter, Florida in 2011, Dania Beach Quarterdeck in 2012, Beach Bar @ Newport Pier in 2014, and Good Spirits, which is set to open in early 2017.

Born in Texas, Paul has been in Florida for most of his life. He attended the University of Florida and then went on to graduate from the University of Notre Dame with a B.B.A. in Accounting, and later graduated from the University of Miami School of law. Prior to entering the restaurant business, Paul also worked as a staff accountant with Price Waterhouse in Tampa and later worked as an attorney with Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius in Miami. Paul is also an experienced pilot and is married with five children.

Frank Zaffere

PARTNER & COO

Frank is a long-time business partner and friend of his fellow Notre Dame alumni, Paul Flanigan. His introduction to the restaurant industry began in 1992 when, within five days of his arrival in South Florida, he was employed as a busboy at the first Quarterdeck. Less than 10 years later, he was named Director of Operations. Under his direction, the Quarterdeck doubled units and sales, and established partnership relationships with three major sports franchises in South Florida: the Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers and Florida Marlins. Frank was the impetus behind the adoption of sushi into our operations, first as a limited menu item, and then based upon his creation and development of Dive Bar, as a major revenue center. Frank’s restaurant experience includes serving as managing partner of all the Quarterdeck locations, president of Dive Bar, president of Beach Bar @Newport Pier, Lobby Bar LLC, Good Spirits LLC, and Jedi Enterprises LLC.

Frank is also a local radio personality with ESPN 106.3, where he hosts a weekly show concentrating on Mixed Martial Arts.

Sophie Snyder

DIRECTOR

Sophie began her hospitality career in South Florida, but ‘cut her teeth’ in the Big Apple, New York City for 15 years where she developed a passion for spirits, food and wine. She was recruited back to South Florida to serve as Corporate Beverage Director for Old School Hospitality Group where she directs operations and manages strategic collaborative partnerships. She has been a design consultant for the Hula Kai Tiki Bar and Restaurant concept.

Sophie is also responsible for continued development of the Whiskey Neat Cocktail Lounge concept at both the Fort Lauderdale and the Plantation locations.