Fast Casual Seafood Leader Expands Presence in the Volunteer State
Captain D’s, the leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today the opening of its newest franchised location in Johnson City, Tennessee. Marking the brand’s 71st in the state, the new Johnson City restaurant emphasizes Captain D’s aggressive development plans for Tennessee, with three additional locations slated to open before the end of the year in Cordova, Dayton and Smyrna. Located at 2424 North Roan Street, the restaurant will celebrate its grand opening today with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m., attended by the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce and other local dignitaries. Additionally, former Captain D’s franchisee of the Tri-Cities region, Jim Pepper, will be on-site to hand batter and fry the location’s first batch of fish.
Showcasing the brand’s most recent beach design, the Johnson City Captain D’s is 2,800 square feet, with a drive-thru, and has created more than 50 new jobs in the community. This new restaurant will be owned and operated by Edward and Chris Benner of Trident Holdings LLC, marking their 23rd Captain D’s location. As one of the largest franchisee groups in the system, the partners currently operate locations across five states and recently signed an additional development agreement to open three more Captain D’s locations throughout the Roanoke, Virginia market over the next four years.
“We began franchising with Captain D’s in 2015 and haven’t looked back since. The brand’s commitment to continually investing in its people, products and processes has established it as one of the best franchising opportunities in the industry today, and our success is a true testament to Captain D’s commitment to its franchisees,” said Chris Benner, Captain D’s franchisee and partner of Trident Holdings LLC. “Our continued investment with Captain D’s reflects our confidence in the brand and its unlimited potential for success, and we are excited to continue our expansion by bringing this new location to the Johnson City community.”
Captain D’s expansion in Tennessee is fueled by the outstanding success the brand experienced in 2016, achieving its sixth consecutive year of same store sales increases and fourth successive year of record high system-wide average unit volume (AUV). This ongoing success has propelled Captain D’s franchise expansion, with agreements signed this year to open an additional 25 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 522 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 522 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.
