Captain D’s announced the opening of its newest franchised location in Memphis, Tennessee. Located at 9607 Highway 64, the new restaurant marks Captain D’s 10th Memphis location and 74th overall in the brand’s home state of Tennessee. Throughout 2020, Captain D’s continued to prioritize its development in the Southeast, opening new locations in Oak Grove, Kentucky; Shreveport, Louisiana; Palatka, Florida, and Lancaster, South Carolina, and will continue with its development plans in the new year starting with the Memphis opening.

Driving Captain D’s Tennessee expansion is multi-unit franchisee and restaurant industry veteran, Joe Springer, operating partner of Nufish, LLC. With nearly two decades of restaurant experience, Springer has become one of Captain D’s largest multi-unit franchisees since first signing on with the brand in 2009. Over the course of 12 years, Nufish has grown Captain D’s presence throughout Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, with the new Memphis restaurant marking the operating group’s 19th location.

“I’ve spent over a decade of my career as a Captain D’s multi-unit franchisee and each year I am even more blown away by the ample support that the brand provides us. Coming off of 2020, Captain D’s proved to its operators that it is an unshakable legacy brand with a sustainable and trusted franchise model,” says Joe Springer. “It is an honor to kick off Captain D’s 2021 development with a fresh start and continue to grow alongside the brand in Memphis, a community Nufish has been dedicated to serving since we first joined Captain D’s in 2009.”

Since the first Captain D’s restaurant opened in Nashville in 1969, the Southeast has remained a key region for the brand’s long-term growth. Building upon the brand’s foundation established in the Southeast, Captain D’s pushed into neighboring regions such as the Midwest, expanding across Michigan, Illinois and Missouri just last year. Looking ahead, Captain D’s plans to sustain its sprawling footprint by opening restaurants in new markets across Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and as far west as Utah.

“Multi-unit owners and operators like the group at Nufish have been an integral part of our sustained success and growth, even in the most trying of times for the restaurant industry. We value the synergetic relationship we have with our trusted franchisees and, therefore, will continue to help fuel their success in whatever capacity we can moving into this new year,” adds Brad Reed, chief development officer of Captain D’s. “As we focus on growth from Florida to Texas and everywhere in-between, that mentality will remain the same to foster the relationships with our existing franchisees and onboard new operators.”