They'd had all the other themes for a McDonald's in town:rock and roll, cowboys, play centers.

Their next theme would've been out of this world.

But the owners of several McDonald's themed franchises never got to turn their idea into a burger joint. Instead, McDonald's, seeing the success of the franchises, approached the franchise owners with a deal.

"We were doing very well at that point,"said Gene Holwegner, one of the three franchise owners of seven McDonald's restaurants in the area. "They offered to buy them back."

In 1994, McDonald's bought the restaurants back. The idea of a space-themed restaurant was still stuck in the original owners' heads, though.

"People have always been intrigued with aliens,"Holwegner said. "The other themes were already in Bismarck-Mandan."

So for two and a half years, Holwegner, Mort Bank and Dave Glaser crafted what would soon become the only successful franchise to come out of Bismarck:Space Aliens Grill and Bar.

They thought they'd try the theme out in Bismarck, but took a long, hard look at their target market.

"Our base demographic was pretty broad,"Holwegner said.

They took into account the facts of Bismarck's population, he said. "Our niche is a little different,"Holwegner said, noting that it's a smaller city with an older base, but also with families and young adults.

So they designed the restaurant to include everyone:games for kids, a "Bar from Mars" for young adults and an appealing menu for everyone, Holwegner said.

And when asked what he compares the Space Aliens restaurant to -Chuck E. Cheese, maybe, or a themed McDonald's- his answer:"Wouldn't compare it to anything."

The first Space Aliens restaurant opened for business in 1997, with a second one opening just two years later in Fargo. At that point, the owners had to decide whether to continue to open company-owned restaurants, or to offer the concept up for franchising.

The latter was ideal, Holwegner said.

"It was a great way to take the concept and expand it at a faster pace,"he said.

And it helped that the three owners came from a strong franchising background; together, Bank, Glaser and Holwegner have 70 years of franchising experience.

"We've seen franchising from both sides,"Holwegner said.

They sold the first franchise agreement to Eric Rogneby, who opened a Space Aliens site in Waite Park, Minn., in 2004. After that, the sites continued to open:Albertville, Minn., in April of last year, and one in Minot in June 2006.

The next one is scheduled to open in April in Blaine, Minn.

North Dakota is home to several other franchises, according to the secretary of state, franchise division. In fact, there are six total, including Galaxy Investors Inc., the Space Aliens company. One is based in Grand Forks, and four are based in Fargo, including a hotel franchise and two siding companies.

Bismarck's own is far from being done, said Holwegner. Within the next seven to 10 years, Galaxy Investors wants to have at least 20 more locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and Colorado. They're looking at cities within those markets that have similar demographics to Bismarck's.

"We're doing well,"Holwegner said. "We decided we would take a good, slow approach initially."

Deciding to franchise was an easier decision for the three owners of Space Aliens, Holwegner said, but their experience was what helped them be successful. Without that, the process would have been a lot more difficult.

What else would he tell anyone looking to franchise their business?

Passion for the business, confidence and access to capital, he said.

"But if you don't have any franchising experience, you need to get some of that first,"he said.

(Reach business reporter Crystal Reid at 250-8261 or at crystal.reid@;bismarcktribune.com.)