Kelly’s Roast Beef looking to expand in South Florida, in a big way

For Bostonians here in South Florida asking “Where’s the beef,” the answer may be: It’s on its way.

Kelly’s Roast Beef, an iconic restaurant brand in the Boston area for the last seven decades, is planning on expanding into Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

At least that’s the plan, according to Neil Newcomb, CEO of Kelly’s Roast Beef Franchising.

“My personal goal is to have 20 [South Florida] locations in five years,” he says.

Newcomb says that he was a little surprised by the interest he is seeing from entrepreneurs wanting to bring Kelly’s to

SoFlo. Initially, when the franchises were first offered in February, he assumed that most of the attention would come from the New England area. Kelly’s Roast Beef has enough fame that it’s popped up in pop culture from “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” to “Good Will Hunting” and the PBS documentary “Sandwiches That You Will Like.”

But others knew better.

“I was told by one of the [members] of the founding families, who spends a lot of time in South Florida… his name is Bryan McCarthy, he told me I was going get a lot of interest down there. So many people, if they don’t move down, they spend a lot of time down there.”

The history: There are now four locations in eastern Massachusetts, including Revere Beach, Saugus, Medford and Danvers. There is also a counter in the food court at Boston Logan International Airport.

Kelly’s started in 1951 as a hot dog cart along the sands of Revere Beach by Frank McCarthy and Ray Carey, who named the restaurant after a mutual friend. Carey and McCarthy claim that they invented the roast beef when a wedding was canceled and they were left with a bunch of roast beef on their hands.

The two decided to slice up the roast beef and sell it as sandwiches along the seashore.

“With Kelly’s, we always say, if you visit Boston and you didn’t eat at Kelly’s, did you really go to Boston,” Newcomb says. “There is a brand love that’s alive and well in Boston that I’ve never seen anywhere. It’s more than In-N-Out Burger in California.”

The menu: Though top billing goes to the roast beef sandwich — made with mediumrare roasted sirloin-tip meat (aged for 25 days) that is served on a buttered, griddled hamburger roll — the restaurant chain is equally known for its lobster roll and other seafood.

“It’s distinctly Boston seafood in that it’s scallops, but not pan-seared scallops over risotto,” Newcomb says. “It’s fried scallops. Believe me, you get the fried clams or fried scallops and tarter sauce and man, you’re in heaven.”