Fast Casual Seafood Franchise Announces Leadership Team Expansion and Company Promotions
Captain D’s, the nation’s leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today it has expanded its leadership team, promoting company veterans Tim Ward and Andy Castle to chief operating officer and vice president of company operations, respectively. Additionally, the company promoted David Rentschler to director of operations for the Nashville-Knoxville-North SC district and Jen Daley to Knoxville area director.
“Captain D’s is one of the strongest fast casual concepts in the industry today, and our success is driven by our talented people,” said Phil Greifeld, president and chief executive officer of Captain D’s. “We are delighted to recognize the significant contributions of these four longtime employees and announce their well-deserved promotions. As we head into a new year, we are certain that they each will continue to be integral to our brand’s success, and look forward to watching them excel in their new roles.”
The recent Captain D’s promotions include:
Tim Ward, chief operating officer. Ward joined Captain D’s seven years ago, and has continually grown throughout his time with the company, most recently serving as vice president of company operations. In his new role, Ward will oversee all company and franchise operations, as well as develop and implement strategies to further heighten system-wide operations, guest service and unit-level economics.
Andy Castle, vice president of company operations. Castle joined Captain D’s in 2012 as area director in Middle Tennessee, and has more than a decade of extensive experience working in fast casual environments nationwide. As vice president of company operations, his primary responsibilities will include management staffing and development, accurate execution of marketing initiatives, ensuring proper food handling procedures and practices, and meeting and exceeding sales and profit targets.
David Rentschler, director of operations for the Nashville–Knoxville–North SC District. Rentschler’s promotion comes on the heels of the outstanding success he has achieved as area director for the past three years, helping his region become number one in the system.
Jen Daley, Knoxville area director. Daley has served as the General Manager of the Lenoir City Captain D’s in Tennessee for the past seven years, which she helped achieve outstanding success and become an award-winning restaurant. She has consistently displayed quality leadership and a guest-centric focus, and was recognized with the company’s General Manager of the Year Award in 2016.
These internal company promotions are coupled with the year-after-year compounding success Captain D’s has achieved, with 2016 marking its sixth consecutive year of same store sales increases and fourth successive year of record high system-wide average unit volume (AUV). This compounding success has propelled Captain D’s franchise expansion, with agreements signed this year to open new restaurants in states across the country including Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Virginia.
Coupled with its ongoing menu innovation, Captain D’s credits its new restaurant beach design with contributing to the brand’s ongoing strong performance. To date, nearly 70 percent of all restaurants have been reimaged to the brand’s new vibrant, coastal design, with another 50 locations to be remodeled by the end of this year. With these efforts, Captain D’s has remained true to what it does best — serving high-quality seafood with warm hospitality at an affordable price in a welcoming atmosphere.
With 530 restaurants in 21 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 800-550-4877.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D’s has 530 restaurants in 21 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.
