Captain D’s announced plans for continued development in Florida, targeting Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Bradenton to expand its presence through franchise growth. Mark Levis, senior director of franchise development, will be at the Tampa Franchise Expo on February 18 and 19 to meet with qualified prospective franchisees. Captain D’s currently has 30 restaurants located throughout the state, opening three locations in North Florida last year and signing a multi-unit develop agreement to bring additional locations to Orlando.
Captain D’s aggressive growth plans for Florida are part of the brand’s overall franchise development plans for this year. This expansion is further driving Captain D’s ongoing success, achieving its fourth successive year of record high system-wide AUV in 2016. Captain D’s also saw a fourth-quarter system-wide same-store sales increase of 1.3 percent and a 2.3 percent system-wide same-store sales increase for the entire fiscal year, marking the company’s 21st consecutive quarter and sixth consecutive year of positive growth.
“Captain D’s experienced tremendous growth last year and as we ride that momentum in 2017, we’ve made Florida a priority market for franchise expansion,” says Michael Arrowsmith, chief development officer of Captain D’s. “With existing restaurants in the area consistently performing well, we’re eager to catapult our presence even more in the region, and encourage qualified and experienced franchise candidates interested in joining a nationally recognized brand with a proven record of success to visit us during the upcoming Tampa Franchise Expo.
Those interested in developing Captain D’s restaurants in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Bradenton are encouraged to contact Mark Levis, senior director of franchise development. Levis will be at booth 301 at the Tampa Franchise Expo on Saturday, February 18 and Sunday, February 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tampa Convention Center, located at 333 S. Franklin Street.
Captain D’s success in 2016 was further driven by its seafood expertise and product innovation, with the introduction of new menu items including Nashville Hot Fish, Home-Style Flounder, Coconut Shrimp and Salmon Cakes. 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 518 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.
