Captain D's facts for kids
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Trade name
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Captain D's |
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Formerly
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Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers (1969–1975) |
| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast casual |
| Founded | August 15, 1969 in Donelson, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Founder | Raymond L. Danner, Sr. |
| Headquarters |
,
U.S.
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Key people
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Phil Greifeld (President & CEO) Nan Ward (COO) Jeff Wilson (CFO) Bindi Menon (CMO) Brad Reed (CBDO) |
| Revenue |  US$544.43 million (2016) |
| Owner | Centre Partners |
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Number of employees
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6,000 |
Captain D's is a popular American fast casual restaurant chain. It is famous for its delicious seafood dishes. The company's main office is in Nashville, Tennessee.
Captain D's was started by Raymond L. Danner Sr. on August 15, 1969. It was first called Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers. The very first restaurant opened in Donelson, Tennessee. Today, Captain D's is owned by a company called Centre Partners. You can find more than 500 Captain D's restaurants across the United States.
Contents
The Story of Captain D's
How Captain D's Started
Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers opened its doors in 1969. The founder, Raymond L. Danner Sr., was a smart businessman. He already owned Danner Foods and had KFC restaurants. He wanted to expand his other restaurant chain, Shoney's Big Boy Restaurants. However, he could only open Shoney's in 11 states in the Southeast.
In 1971, Danner and his Shoney's co-founder, Alex Schoenbaum, joined their companies. They named their new company Shoney’s Big Boy Enterprises. In 1975, Raymond Danner was the president of the company. He announced that Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers would change its name to "Captain D's." They also started a plan to let other people open Captain D's restaurants as franchises across the country.
By 1975, Captain D's had changed its menu. It started to focus mostly on seafood and tasty side dishes. The chain had grown to 32 locations. These restaurants were earning more than $10 million each year! In 1976, Captain D's became part of Shoney's Inc. This happened after Danner and Schoenbaum sold the Big Boy trademark to another company.
Growing Bigger and Better
Throughout the 1970s, Captain D's grew very quickly. They added fun programs for kids, like the Kids' Birthday Club. They even had special comic books for children. In the 1980s and 1990s, the company updated its logo and the design of its buildings.
In 2010, Phil Greifeld became the new CEO of Captain D's. The company continued to grow. In 2016, Captain D's opened 13 new restaurants. They also made plans to open many more in different states. This growth helped the brand reach more places. These included Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Texas.
A Focus on Fairness
In 1992, Captain D's was part of a large agreement. This agreement was about making sure everyone had fair chances at the company. The parent company, Shoney's Inc., agreed to pay $105 million. Raymond Danner also contributed company stock to this amount. This money went to over 40,000 people. They were former, current, or future employees. This agreement helped to make sure that fair practices were followed in the company's restaurants.
Who Owns Captain D's?
Over the years, Captain D's has been owned by different companies. In 2005, a company called Sagittarius Brand, Inc. bought Captain D's for $150 million. To get more money, they sold Captain D's to Sun Capital Partners, Inc. in 2010.
Captain D's also bought another restaurant chain called Grandy's in 2006. This happened after Grandy's parent company had some financial difficulties.
In 2013, Sun Capital Partners Inc. sold Captain D's to Centre Partners Management. Then, in 2017, Centre Partners sold the chain to Sentinel Capital Partners.
What's on the Menu?
Captain D's offers a wide variety of tasty meals. You can find fried fish, shrimp, lobster, and crab. They also serve chicken meals, platters, and sandwiches. You can choose to have your fish and shrimp grilled or fried.
For appetizers, they have fried mozzarella sticks and jalapeño poppers. You can also try clam strips and butterfly shrimp. Their side dishes include coleslaw, French fries, and green beans. Other options are okra, broccoli, baked potato, corn, mac & cheese, and hush puppies. For dessert, they offer cheesecake and funnel cake stix.
In 2019, Captain D's partnered with PepsiCo. This means PepsiCo is now the only company that supplies drinks to Captain D's restaurants. As of 2021, Captain D's gets its food from 60 different suppliers.
New Ways to Serve You
Captain D's is always looking for new ways to serve its customers. In 2020, they announced a new restaurant design called the "Express prototype." This is a smaller building, only 960 square feet. It has only drive-thru and walk-up windows. The first Express unit was planned to open in College Park, Georgia, in 2021.
In 2021, Captain D's also introduced its first double drive-thru. This new design opened in Tupelo, Mississippi. It helps serve customers even faster.
See also
- List of seafood restaurants
