The US seafood chain is expanding both domestically, in Canada and even moving into the United Kingdom later this year.

While other US seafood chains like Red Lobster have struggled to keep seafood customers coming back post-COVID, Captain D’s has been thriving.

Janet Duckham, a chief supply contractor for the chain and former executive with the company, spoke at the IntraFish Seafood Leadership Breakfast in Boston about what exactly the company is doing differently to stay ahead of the curve.

“At Captain D’s, we are enjoying double-digit sales and double-digit traffic,” she said. “We’re in good shape right now, but we’re spending a lot of money on marketing, and it’s paying off,” she said.

Captain D’s operates approximately 530 restaurants throughout the United States, and is the second-largest seafood chain in the country, just behind Red Lobster, which currently operates approximately 545 outlets in the US market. The company, headquartered in Tennessee, has operations in 23 states.

Engineering the menu

Convenience, affordability and fine-tuning the chain’s menu are some of the factors attracting consumers to the fast-casual dining chain, said Duckham.

“So when we look at our menu, one of the things that we have to do, there’s two keywords, and that’s menu optimization,” she explained.

“What’s on your menu, and what sells and what doesn’t sell? And then you want to look at engineering your menu. That’s a different opportunity. That’s where you may take a particular species and get something out of that that creates value for the customer. It has to be driven by value.”

She noted customers visit the restaurant two times a week, so the menu has to be diverse, but it also has to offer a good value.

Major international expansion plans

In January, the chain announced it is expanding into Europe through a 20-unit franchise agreement in the United Kingdom.

“We’re going to go and share our fish and chips and modify it to the clientele. “You have to have mushy peas over there,” said Duckham. “Green beans don’t work over there.”

The chain still plans, however, to introduce its signature seafood dishes — including shrimp, tilapia and salmon — to its first location in London in 2025.

The restaurant also recently announced an expansion into Canada, where it will open five Captain D’s outlets in the Toronto metropolitan area in the years ahead.

“We’re on a good, international expansion, but we’re also expanding domestically,” Duckham said, noting the chain is adding franchises in Brooklyn, Long Island and the Bronx, New York.

Duckham attributed the seafood chain’s growth not only to marketing but also to its operations team.

“We can do all the work we want, but it’s what you do inside those four walls,” she said. “So we have a great operations team, but we also have franchisees that understand the system. I think we’re just on a roll right now.”

Overhauling restaurant layouts to fit a changing consumer

As part of a restaurant overhaul at the chain, Captain D’s is making its outlets smaller and more efficient.

The company used to open buildings that were 1,600 square feet, but now is opting for buildings in the 600-800 square foot range, said Duckham, noting smaller buildings just make more sense as a return on investment.

There have also been changes in the percentage of dine-in versus drive-through customers over the past 10 years.

“Ten years ago, we were 45 percent dine-in. Today, we are 20 percent dine-in, 55 percent drive-through,” she said. She added 15 percent of customers still like to walk in, have their order taken in person, and take it to go. Three percent of customers place online orders.

“Online is the fastest-growing percent for us,” she said, noting there has been a dramatic shift, in general, away from dining on premise to ordering food to go.

Understanding the seafood customer

Duckham emphasized during the panel discussion that it’s important to look at where a brand is going and how seafood species fi t into a company’s brand not just today, but five years down the road.

“We understand our clientele at Captain D’s, so we have to play within a particular sandbox,” she said. “We can’t get too far out of that sandbox. So there’s a lot of different species that we’re looking at. Our clientele want mild, white[fi sh], but we’re going to push the limits.”

The company is investigating some species it hadn’t looked at before and is even looking to feature more wild-caught product on the menu, she said.

“You really have to understand your consumer though,” she emphasized, “because there’s a lot of different seafoods out there. Not all of those would work at our brand.”