Loading
Fast casual remains a significant growth piece in the Tampa restaurant sector.
The latest to seize the market is Nashville-based franchise chain Captain D's, with a menu that focuses on seafood and fish and chips. Captain D's has 514 locations spread through 26 states, but only one on the Gulf Coast, in Pasco County. Captain D's Chief Development Officer Michael Arrowsmith, a Tampa resident, hopes to increase that count soon.
“We see Tampa as a great opportunity,” Arrowsmith tells Coffee Talk. “It's a market where our customers have told us they want to be.”
Most of Captain D's Florida locations, outside its Pasco store, are either in the Jacksonville market or the Panhandle. Arrowsmith says he doesn't have a set number of stores he'd like to open in the region, and he also seeks franchisees in the Orlando market.
The company, with five straight years of same-store sales growth, has recently rebranded and redesigned the Captain D's concept and interiors, says Arrowsmith. Gone is an Ahoy, matey look of a wharf with netting. The new look is a bright, beach house vacation feel.
Captain D's planned to have a large presence at a franchise expo in Tampa scheduled for Feb. 27 and 28, part of its strategy to find franchisees. Startup costs for a Captain D's, according to the firm's website, range from $771,000 to $1 million, not including real estate. Franchise candidates should have liquid assets of $350,000 and a net worth of at least $1 million.
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning business news.
Join thousands of executives who rely on us for insights spanning Tampa Bay to Naples.
