ROCKINGHAM – If you live in or around Richmond County and love good seafood and/or a great steak, then you have probably eaten at Captain George Seafood Restaurant in Rockingham. The business will be celebrating its’ fifth anniversary in November of this year, but the history began long before.
Romeo Bastida was born in the Philippines near Manila. His family later moved to Japan and then to the United States in 1991; Bastida was 14 years old at the time. Around 1996 he applied for a job at the Rockingham Fish Camp which was then owned by George and Soula Kfes and was hired. Bastida was a very hard-working eager young man who put his effort into many long hours with no days off. His determination and trustworthiness got him promoted as Kfes right-hand man. Each year the Kfes would vacation back to their homeland of Greece and leave Bastida in charge of the restaurant. Late in the year 2012 the Kfes retired and sold the property to First Bank. With a strong desire and many years of hard work, Bastida was able to save enough money to open his own restaurant in which he named Captain George, after his previous boss George Kfes.
Bastida’s entire family has a part in the business, which includes his wife Maricel Bastida, his step-father Nick Kurtz, and his son Nicolai Bastida. Kurtz has been with Bastida from the beginning of his business venture. In speaking to Kurtz, he mentioned “There were many years when Romeo worked seven days a week with long hours helping George. He was able to save enough for the start-up of his business. He is and has always been a very hard worker who goes above and beyond call.” He went on to mention the work they had to put into the building before it opened for business and also stated “Soula, the wife of George did all the wall decorations.” With Bastida’s hard-working nature, Kurtz had to talk him into closing the restaurant two days a week for rest and family time.
Their eight-year old daughter Mary Jane is eager to get started in the business as well, and she practices daily. “I am constantly finding order books in my car where Mary Jane pretends to be taking orders” said Kurtz. As Maricel smiled, she stated “She really wants to work, but isn’t quite old enough yet.” The Bastida’s son Nicolai began working at Captain George at age 17. They employ mostly students from high school and college and have eight to ten full-time waitresses/waiters as well as four to five kitchen workers.
You will rarely see Romeo or Maricel in the dining area, as they are both diligently working in the kitchen. Romeo oversees the kitchen as he mans the grill and cooks mouth-watering steaks. “We have several customers who come out just for Romeo’s rib-eye steaks and steak sandwiches” Kurtz said. “We also have our registers set-up to track dine-in orders as well as take-out orders; our take-out orders are overwhelming.”
The next time you have a desire for great seafood or a delicious mouth-watering steak, venture out to Captain George Seafood Restaurant; you will not be disappointed. They are located at 522 East Broad Avenue Rockingham, NC; phone 910-997-4355. Hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday from 11am to 8pm and Sunday 11am to 3pm; closed on Monday and Tuesday for rest and family time.
