Our Story

The entrepreneurial spirit of the McLaughlin family started in the 1920’s with Gene McLaughlin, who founded the Square Deal Grocery in Austin, Minnesota. Gene McLaughlin’s son, Dave McLaughlin, started his career working for one of the nation’s largest meat producers, George A. Hormel and Company.  In 1973 Dave McLaughlin, along with partner Paul Allen, co-founded Advance Meat Company, a manufacturer of hamburger patties and breaded beef products based in Enid, Oklahoma.   Under the leadership of the McLaughlin and Allen families, Advance Food Company grew into one of the largest and most respected food production companies in the country.  In 2010 the families sold a majority interest in Advance Food Company.

Square Deal Capital, Inc

In the post Advance Food Company years, the family saw the need to position resources for the future, and in doing so created Square Deal Capital, Inc—named after Gene McLaughlin’s original grocery store in Minnesota.    

Formed in 2013, Oklahoma City based Square Deal Capital, Inc. is the single family office for the McLaughlin Family.  In addition to facilitating allocation and consolidating reporting for the family members, the company deploys assets in a variety of directed and managed strategies including:  public equities, commercial real estate; private equity; real estate development, and fixed income.