Captain D’s announced the opening of its newest franchised location in Cochran, Georgia. Located at 179 E. Dykes St., the new restaurant is Captain D’s first in Cochran and 105th overall in the state, and comes on the heels of recent openings in Hazlehurst, Norcross and Pooler earlier this year.
The new Captain D’s in Cochran is owned and operated by hometown native and existing multi-unit franchisee, Ali Momin. Momin signed his first franchise development agreement with the brand in 2016 and currently has another Captain D’s restaurant in Lovejoy. At 28 years old, he is the brand’s youngest operator and has nearly a decade of experience in the restaurant and franchising industries, which he started gaining by working at his father’s Dairy Queen in Cochran and eventually working his way up to 50 percent ownership of the business. In addition to his two Captain D’s, Momin owns two Dairy Queen restaurants and two Edible Arrangements stores in Central Georgia. He plans to continue expanding his portfolio with Captain D’s and is looking to develop more restaurants over the next several years.
“My father has been a longtime restaurant franchisee and having experience in the industry myself, we both knew that Captain D’s was a great opportunity from the very beginning. With seafood occupying such a unique niche in the fast casual space, we’ve been able to successfully operate our other restaurants and gain more market share without risking them cannibalizing each other,” says Momin. “I’m excited to bring a brand I’m so passionate about to my hometown and share the Captain D’s experience with the Cochran community.”
Captain D’s ongoing growth in Georgia and throughout the Southeastern U.S. has been driven by a surge in franchise development. Year to date, the brand has opened 10 new restaurants and is expected to open several more before the end of the year. In addition to this development, Captain D’s has signed numerous agreements to expand its presence in new and existing markets like Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, North Carolina, Michigan and Oklahoma over the next several years.
“Becoming a Captain D’s franchisee at just 25 years old, we’ve watched Ali blossom into one of the strongest operators in our system. His passion for our brand and internal drive have been instrumental to his success and we have no doubt he’ll continue to be a rising star for years to come,” adds Brad Reed, chief development officer of Captain D’s. “We’re equally excited to bring a Captain D’s to Ali’s hometown and look forward to serving residents of the Cochran community.”
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.
Captain D’s has more than 530 restaurants in 22 states.
