Captain D's Achieves Significant Success and Propels Expansion in Milestone Year

- Leading Fast Casual Seafood Franchise Accelerates Development Across the Southeast and Midwest Regions in 2019 -

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Jan 29, 2020, 08:55 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Captain D's, the nation's leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced today that it achieved significant growth and success in its 50^th year, opening 15 new locations and signing eight franchise development agreements with new and existing franchisees to expand its brand footprint throughout the Southeast, Midwest and Utah. This surge in franchise development, coupled with the brand's longstanding history and compounding success over the past several years, reinforces Captain D's as the leader of the fast casual seafood segment, supported by the brand's commitment to innovation and strong unit-level economics. In 2019, Captain D's achieved another year of comp sales and AUV growth.

"2019 marked our golden anniversary, where we celebrated 50 years of serving high-quality seafood at affordable prices in a welcoming atmosphere and reached incredible heights as a company that have poised our brand for remarkable growth in the years to come," said Phil Greifeld, president and CEO of Captain D's. "As I reflect on the last decade that I've been with Captain D's, I'm so proud of the collective team and all that we've been able to accomplish together with our shared commitment to providing an unparalleled experience for our guests. Launching off of the past year, Captain D's has a bright future ahead backed by a best-in-class team and franchise network, and a prime position in the fast casual space as the number-one seafood concept out there."

As a result of its tremendous development success in 2019, Captain D's will open many new restaurants over the next several years in key markets like Southern Florida and Illinois, and is positioned for substantial growth in 2020. On the heels of its latest corporate opening in Union Park, Florida earlier this month, the brand is projected to open 25 additional locations throughout the year, including its first restaurants in Michigan and Utah. Looking ahead, the company is continuing to focus its efforts on corporate and franchise development in target markets throughout the South and Midwest, including Central/Southern Florida, Texas and Wisconsin.

Captain D's has continually invested in key brand initiatives like state-of-the-art equipment innovation and restaurant prototype development in order enhance its guest experience, as well as offer best-in-class support and flexibility to its franchisees. For these reasons and more, the brand is consistently recognized among the franchising and foodservice industries' most prestigious accolades, including Nation's Restaurant News' Top 50 Beloved Brands, Entrepreneur's Top Franchises for Veterans and Best Franchise Brands, Franchise Times' Top 200 and Restaurant Business' Top 500. Most recently, Captain D's was ranked as the seafood category leader in Entrepreneur magazine's highly competitive Franchise 500 ranking of the top franchise brands throughout the country.

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 80% of all restaurants have been reimaged to the brand's new vibrant, coastal design. 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 more than 530 restaurants in 22 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 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.

ABOUT CAPTAIN D'S
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 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.

Contact:
Shana Rosenthal
Fish Consulting
954-893-9150
[email protected]

SOURCE Captain D's