Franchising

Captain D's franchisees converting Hardee's, Church's locations in New Jersey, Georgia

Photo: Captain D's

December 21, 2023

Nashville-based Captain D's has signed two franchise development agreements in New Jersey and Georgia. Both agreements are with experienced business leaders new to Captain D's, who came to the brand with conversion opportunities identified in their cities.

Multi-brand franchisees Jujhar Rai and Maliha Rahmani are developing one location in Camden, New Jersey. The site is a former Church's Chicken and will open in 2024. Rai and Rahmani have 23 years of experience in restaurant franchising and operate Checkers locations.

The Georgia agreement backfills opportunities in the Atlanta market. Farid Khan will develop three Captain D's, with the first opening next year in a former Hardee's within the Atlanta area. Khan's business portfolio includes rental cars, gas stations and a commercial real estate and management company. He also has past experience in hotels and as a Marco's Pizza franchisee.

"Jujhar, Maliha and Farid recognized valuable properties in their markets that are ripe for repurposing and came to Captain D's because of our conversion expertise and our unique seafood category," Brad Reed, chief development officer of Captain D's, said in a company press release. "In this increasingly competitive real estate market, converting an existing building can save significantly on start-up costs. We look forward to working with these dedicated professionals and utilizing existing efficiencies to get them up and running faster to serve their communities."

Over the past year, 50% of Captain D's restaurant openings have been conversions, giving new life to former Huddle House, Bojangles, Dunkin', KFC and Hardee's properties. In total, Captain D's is now the second generation in former locations of 18 different brands, with more conversions planned for 2024.

Captain D's has over 530 restaurants in 23 states.