Captain D’s, a leading fast casual seafood restaurant, announced the signing of franchise development agreements that will expand its presence in four states. This growth will bring five new restaurants to San Antonio, Texas, one to Jackson, Tennessee and four to the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida market over the next several years. This surge in franchise development has fueled Captain D’s ongoing success, achieving six consecutive years of same-store sales increases and four successive years of record high system-wide average unit volume (AUV).
“The significant brand building accomplishments we’ve achieved over the last six years have solidified Captain D’s as a leader in the fast casual segment and showcased our unlimited potential for success,” says Michael Arrowsmith, chief development officer of Captain D’s. “Our commitment to supporting our franchisees has not only driven interest from new candidates, but also fueled growth from within, with existing franchisees continuing to develop more restaurants. We look forward to building on this momentum to continue driving the brand’s franchise development.”
The new and existing Captain D’s franchise agreements signed include:
Driving Captain D’s growth in Alabama and Florida are new franchisees Sam and Gus Abusaleem of GSA Food Group, who will be opening four locations in the Mobile-Pensacola market over the next five years. The Abusaleems have been working in the industry since the early 1990s, having previously owned and operated local convenience stores in their community, as well as several restaurant franchises, including Popeye’s and Marco’s Pizza. After developing their initial four locations, the partners plan to continue expanding within their territory and opening more Captain D’s restaurants throughout the Mobile region.
Existing franchisees International Restaurant Group have signed a franchise agreement to develop five new restaurants throughout San Antonio, with the first location expected to open later this year. The franchise group is also driving Captain D’s expansion in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, most recently opening the first of three planned locations in Dallas in June.
First-time Captain D’s franchisee Chad Vaughn will be opening a new location in Jackson, Tennessee within the next year, with plans to develop additional locations in the market over the next several years. This is Vaughn’s first venture into franchising, after spending decades as the owner and operator of a multi-million dollar construction firm.
Coupled with its menu diversification and expanded array of offerings, Captain D’s credits its new restaurant beach design with contributing to the brand’s compounding success. To date, nearly 60 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 521 restaurants in 21 states, Captain D’s is a 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.
