Leading Fast Casual Seafood Brand Continues to Target Florida for Development As It Expands Footprint Across the Southeast
Captain D’s, the nation’s leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today the opening of its newest franchised location in Palatka, Florida. Located at 200 State Road 19, the Palatka restaurant marks Captain D’s eighth location in Northeast Florida and 32nd overall in the state. Following openings in South Carolina and Louisiana earlier this year, the new Florida restaurant showcases Captain D’s steady growth across the Southeast region, with an additional location slated to open in Oak Grove, Kentucky next month.
The new Palatka location is open for drive-thru, carry out, and call ahead ordering with contactless curbside pick-up only; the dining room will remain closed for the immediate future to help with the safety of guests and team members. Online ordering at captainds.com, as well as third-party delivery will be available at a later date. Additionally, Captain D’s has enhanced its standard employee food safety protocol to now include single-use dining items, sanitation procedures deployed every 30 minutes, the installment of plexiglass barriers between guests and cashiers, employee health screenings, among other measures.
Behind Captain D’s recent Florida growth are restaurant industry veterans, Wanda Davis and Toks Achebe of Crossroads Portfolio, Inc. Although first-time Captain D’s franchisees, Davis and Achebe bring over 17 years of franchise industry expertise to the fast casual seafood brand, previously owning and operating Bojangles’ and McDonald’s restaurants throughout Georgia. While plotting the construction of their new restaurant, the duo worked closely with Captain D’s real estate and development teams, as well as Putnam County officials to restructure the restaurant prototype’s layout in order to preserve 200-year-old oak trees located on the property. Following careful planning, Davis and Achebe are ready to debut their Palatka location.
“Drawing on nearly two decades of experience in restaurant operations, Toks and I knew from the start that Captain D’s was the perfect fit to expand our portfolio into the fast casual seafood segment. Since signing our agreement last year, the brand has supported us every step of the way, particularly in pivoting our construction plans and reconfiguring our restaurant’s footprint to salvage a piece of Putnam County’s history,” said Wanda Davis. “It is extremely rewarding to see the end product – made possible by Captain D’s talented teams, as well as the flexible prototype options it made available to us – and we’re excited to continue being an active member of our new community, bringing Captain D’s fresh seafood to another corner of Northeast Florida.”
Since launching its development strategy for Florida a few years ago, Captain D’s has experienced tremendous success growing its footprint in key markets throughout the state. The brand opened a new restaurant in Union Park earlier this year following the debut of its first South Florida location in Belle Glade last August. Fueled by this compounding success, Captain D’s continues to identify the state as a prime market for franchise development and, in addition to the northern and southern regions of the state, is targeting key areas throughout Central Florida including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Bradenton and Orlando for future development.
“As a state surrounded by water, seafood naturally resonates with Florida residents, making it an ideal development market for our brand. With existing Florida locations consistently reporting positive sales, our unique proposition in the fast casual segment coupled with the quality of our product and reasonable prices, continues to attract best-in-class restaurant operators like Wanda and Toks who are eager to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity our brand has here,” said Brad Reed, chief development officer of Captain D’s. “Wanda and Toks’ community-first mentality directly reflects Captain D’s brand values, and it has been a pleasure working with them to create development solutions to best serve the Palatka community. We look forward serving residents here for many years to come.”
The Captain D’s in Palatka is open Sunday – Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Friday – Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Call ahead orders can be placed by calling 386-530-2036.
With more than 530 restaurants in 23 states, Captain D’s is the fast-casual seafood leader and number one seafood franchise in America ranked by average unit volume. The company is currently seeking single and multi-unit operators to join in the brand’s rapid expansion. For more information about franchise opportunities, visit http://www.captaindsfranchising.com or call 800-314-4819.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D’s has more than 530 restaurants in 23 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 50 years. Captain D’s serves a wide variety of seafood that includes freshly prepared entrees and the company’s signature batter dipped fish. The restaurants also offer premium-quality, grilled items such as shrimp, Tilapia and Salmon, as well as hush puppies, desserts and freshly brewed, Southern-style sweet tea, a Captain D’s favorite. For more information, please visit www.captainds.com.
