Captain D's to open NYC locations

Fast casual seafood chain Captain D’s will soon open its first locations in the Big Apple.

The company has announced the signing of its first franchise development agreement that will bring three Captain D's to the city. The agreement is led by multi-brand franchisees Kelly Moughal and Muhammad Saleem, who first introduced the Checkers brand to Manhattan, in addition to owning multiple Subway and Little Caesars locations throughout New York.

"Captain D's is thrilled to enter the greater New York City market, and we could not have found a better franchising team to do that with," said Brad Reed, chief development officer of Captain D's. "Kelly and Muhammad have built an impressive portfolio of businesses and real estate throughout New York. Experts at growing high-volume restaurants, they already pioneered one brand's entrance into Manhattan. Their in-depth knowledge of the market and connections to real estate developers will serve them and Captain D's very well."

Sites are currently being considered throughout Manhattan and Long Island, with the first location expected to open in late 2024. The design of the New York City-area Captain D's will be customized for each site's considerations and will cater to urban markets with limited space and increased foot traffic.

Captain D’s says the new franchising agreement comes at a time of great momentum for the brand, and will help the chain adapt to the increasingly competitive real estate market and provide franchisees with flexibility and substantial cost savings. A couple, Moughal and Saleem have won multiple sales awards with their restaurant brands.

"With its unique proposition in seafood, Captain D's is the perfect complement to our current portfolio," said Moughal. "Muhammad and I were also attracted to the brand's strong unit economics and the fact that this company team has skin in the game with over half of their restaurants company-owned. We have built our business on a strong foundation of values and ethics that we follow on a daily basis, and we see those same values shared by Captain D's." 

Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Captain D's operates more than 530 restaurants in 23 states.