Captain D's Names New Franchise Development Head; Expands Search for Franchisees into New Territories

Captain D's kicked off its latest phase of Franchise development by announcing the hiring of a new member to its senior leadership team.

Former Back Yard Burgers, Inc., executive J. Michael Pearce has been named the seafood chain's new vice president of franchise development. Pearce will be leading the company's effort to expand its franchise operations into new markets throughout the U.S.

"We are very excited to bring Mike and his extensive franchise and development expertise into our leadership team," says Ron Walker, president and chief operating officer for Captain D's. "Mike and the franchise development group will play a big part in our success as we begin a new phase of expanding the Captain D's brand."

In addition to signing commitments totaling more than 200 new units over the past three years for Back Yard Burgers, Pearce also achieved the highest level of store development in company history while serving as Franchise Development Director for Huddle House Restaurants. Prior to his Restaurant industry experience, Pearce spent eight years developing commercial real estate deals for quick-service, casual dining and convenience store properties.

Setting Sights for Upper Midwest

In addition to the Pearce hiring, the seafood chain also announced that it has identified Chicago. Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh as key franchise development markets and is currently looking for new, multi-unit franchisees in those cities. This development is the chain's most aggressive campaign to expand outside of its traditional Southeastern base.

"We've got a strong story to tell right now, and Captain D's has finally put itself in position to grow the brand into some new and exciting markets," says Mike Pearce, Captain D's new vice president of franchise development. "Obviously, we feel Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago are four of the many new markets that Captain D's can do very well in."

Primarily, Captain D's is in search of multi-concept/multi-unit franchise operators that are both well capitalized and passionate about the Captain D's brand. Captain D's offers franchisees a new 2,400 square foot prototype building that features:

- The chain's fast-casual look which recreates the allure of a dockside seafood shack featuring naturally aged woods, hanging steel lights and a galvanized steel awning suspended over a portion of the dining room

- A smaller unit design that offers significant savings in land, building and equipment costs

- A new menu board that features Captain D's oven-baked Lighter Fare products, a new line of lower fat and lower carbohydrate choices, as well as new entrée-sized salads.

- An open kitchen with T-Line operation that allows managers to observe the dining room and customers to see the freshness of the cooking process

- A Fast Track drive-thru timing system that in testing has cut nearly 40 seconds off of drive-thru times

"Both our company locations and our current franchisees have had tremendous success with the prototype. Despite the reduction in number of seats from 96 to 70, our sales continue to flourish at those prototype locations," adds Walker.

About Captain D's Captain D's Seafood is a pioneer and leader in the fast-casual dining category. The company offers its customers great seafood at reasonable prices in a relaxed environment that embodies the fun and romance of dock-side seafood shacks. Each Captain D's restaurant serves a seafood menu centered around the company's signature fried fish, which is hand cut, hand battered and made to order to ensure freshness. The restaurants also offer premium-quality baked or broiled fish, as well as shrimp, chicken and home-style side dishes. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's owns, operates and Franchises 570 restaurants in 23 states. The first store was opened in Donelson, Tenn., in 1969 as Mr. D's. The company later changed its name to Captain D's and became Captain D's, Inc. in August 2000.