Leading Fast Casual Seafood Restaurant Welcomes Industry Veteran to Executive Team
Captain D’s, the nation’s leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today that Chris Kuehn has joined the company as chief marketing officer. Kuehn brings 30 years of industry experience leading the marketing activities of several national food service brands and specializes in strategic growth plans that drive innovation and increase sales. In his new role, Kuehn will be responsible for developing and implementing Captain D’s marketing strategies to further drive brand awareness and support the company’s ongoing expansion throughout the country.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Chris has established a proven track record of success and achieved exceptional growth results for the various restaurant brands he’s worked with,” said Phil Greifeld, chief executive officer and president of Captain D’s. “After many years of compounding success, Captain D’s has emerged as a leader in the fast casual segment, and we know there’s still unlimited potential for the brand’s future. We’re thrilled to welcome Chris to the team at such a pivotal moment in our company history, and have no doubt that his extensive experience will be a tremendous asset as we gear up for our 50th year of business.”
Prior to joining Captain D’s, Kuehn served as the chief marketing officer at Golden Corral for 10 years, where he was responsible for conceptualizing and leading the short- and long-term growth strategies for the brand. During his tenure, he developed innovative marketing strategies that resulted in significant brand and volume growth for their system. A food service industry veteran, Kuehn previously held leadership positions in marketing and operations at Arby’s and Pizza Hut.
“The driving forces behind the impressive success Captain D’s has achieved over the past several years are its unique and highly differentiated brand position in the marketplace that is supported by an engaged and growing Franchisee base and superb Sr. Leadership team. I am privileged to be joining the D’s system and look forward to contributing to the accelerated growth of this iconic American brand,” said Kuehn.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D’s has more than 530 restaurants in 22 states. Captain D’s is the nation’s leading fast casual seafood restaurant and was named the #1 seafood chain in the QSR 50, ranked by AUV. Founded in 1969, Captain D’s has been offering its customers high-quality seafood at reasonable prices in a welcoming atmosphere for more than 48 years. Captain D’s serves a wide variety of seafood that includes freshly prepared entrees and the company’s signature hand-battered fish, which is cooked to order. The restaurants also offer premium-quality, grilled items such as shrimp, and surf and turf, as well as hushpuppies, desserts and freshly brewed, Southern-style sweet tea, a Captain D’s favorite. For more information, please visit www.captainds.com.
