Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Franchise News

Four New Agreements Signed for New York, Detroit, Philadelphia & Baltimore TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. announced today it has signed agreements with four franchisees to develop 12 new restaurants in the West Bronx, New York City, Detroit, Philadelphia and Baltimore over the next several years. Checkers' development in these major metropolitan cities is part of a strategic growth strategy to expand the brand's presence in existing markets, as well as in new regions across the country.

Locations targeted for development include: Four units are to be developed in the West Bronx by Vijay Ghei of Fordham Foods (USA), Inc. The first restaurant is scheduled to open in November 2011 with the remaining three are to be completed by 2014...

Kalex Partners LLC to Open First Restaurant in September 2010 TAMPA, FL - (Marketwire) - Checkers® Drive-In Restaurants announced today the signing of a multi-unit store development agreement with Kalex Partners LLC for four new restaurants in Brooklyn, New York. The first restaurant is scheduled to open at 491 Nostrand Avenue in late September. Kalex plans to open three more Checkers restaurants over the next five years. Checkers' development in Brooklyn is part of a strategic growth strategy to expand the brand's presence in existing markets, as well as in new regions across the country.

"Checkers is excited to expand its footprint in Brooklyn with Kalex Partners LLC," said Checkers' Chief Development Officer Lynette McKee, CFE...

New Locations Now Open and Serving Signature Burgers and Fries ATLANTA, GA --(Marketwire) - The Downtown Atlanta business crowd, residents and visitors alike now have delicious new burger go-to options for lunch and dinner. Checkers® Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. recently opened two new locations at 61 Broad Street in the Fairlie-Poplar District and at 231 Peachtree Street N.E. in the Peachtree Center. The Fairlie-Poplar restaurant has a small seating area and serves walk-in customers Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Peachtree Center location is open in the food court from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

"This is our ninth Checkers franchise in Atlanta, and we are grateful for the opportunity to serve our loyal guests," says Checkers franchisee Aziz Hashim, CEO of National Restaurant Development, Inc...

Double Drive-Thru Leader Opens 35+ Locations Across the Country in 2009 November 18, 2009 // Franchising.com // Tampa, FL – Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, the largest double drive-thru chain in the United States, announced today that the company has experienced substantial growth across the U.S. in 2009 with more than 35 new restaurant openings, a 70 percent increase over 2008.

The new Checkers locations were in markets including New York, Florida, Michigan and Indiana, among others. These new restaurants represent one of the single largest number of openings in one year for the more than 20-year old company.

"The openings in 2009 were some of the most challenging in our history due to the current economic climate," said Rick Silva, chief executive officer of Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc...

July 29, 2009 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, Fla. – Despite what some are calling a very gloomy economy, five new Checkers Drive-In Restaurants opened during the first two months of 2009.

The new restaurants are located in Erlanger, Kentucky; Lapeer, Michigan; Willingboro, N.J.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Greenville, S.C. Three of the new restaurants are owned by existing franchisees and two by new franchisees within the organization.

Michael Arrowsmith, vice president of development, credits current economic conditions and new programs recently launched by Checkers as the forces behind the restaurant openings and increased interest in the 825-restaurant chain based in Tampa.

Specifically, Arrowsmith points to the brand's value proposition, declining site costs, career changes created by layoffs and new building concepts developed by Checkers over the past year...

Non-Traditional Options Creating New Opportunities July 29, 2009 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, Fla. – Non-traditional locations, including an airport, a state university and four turnpike rest areas, account for six of the 18 new Checkers Drive-In Restaurants opened in the second quarter of 2009 as the double drive-thru chain headquartered here sets a pace of openings in the first half of the year not seen since the year 2000.

In the first six months of 2009, 23 new restaurants have opened in eight states through nine new franchisees, 10 current franchisees and one opened by the Company.

According to Michael Arrowsmith, Senior Vice President of Development, the dynamics of new franchisee groups along with new non-traditional locations are creating exciting new opportunities for the nearly 25-year old double drive-thru chain...

Double drive-thru chain spices up its Double Value Menu(SM) with newest product addition
August 11, 2008 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL –– Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants and parent company of both Checkers® and Rally's® concepts, heats up its Double Value Menu(SM) with the introduction of its newest, fully loaded sandwich: Frank's® RedHot® Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.

This fiery and flavorful sandwich has just the right amount of bite, conjuring up a lip-smacking flavor surge reminiscent of authentic Buffalo wings on a bun. Checkers/Rally's Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Sandwich is a kickin' crispy chicken breast fillet fully immersed in Frank's RedHot Original Buffalo Wing Sauce and then cooled off with a creamy ranch dressing drizzle and crisp iceberg lettuce, all served on a golden toasted sesame seed bun...

Double drive-thru chain expands building prototypes to fuel growth plans

July 10, 2008 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL – Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants and parent company of both Checkers® and Rally's® concepts, announced that it has introduced alternative building formats to attract franchisees to markets that once seemed impenetrable. Known for its archetypal dual drive-thru building, the Company has recently developed non-traditional prototypes for end-cap and in-line units, making the Checkers and Rally's brands more accessible than ever before.

The vast majority of Checkers and Rally's growth will still continue to come from its stand-alone, double drive-thru building format...

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants, today announced the reorganization of its executive management team. These changes provide an organizational structure that allows the Company to better support its restaurants and its franchisees, while preparing the business for continued growth.

"Organizational changes were carefully made in key areas that will further strengthen the Company for the long term and provide the necessary foundation to grow in this highly competitive and changing business environment," said Enrique "Rick" Silva, President and CEO of Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc. "Over the past year, we worked diligently to assemble a team of extraordinarily seasoned executives from some of the industry's largest brands...

Single Deals, Double Deals and Mix & Match menu gives guests value on their terms

January 02, 2008 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL - Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants and parent company of both Checkers® and Rally's® concepts, today announced the system-wide launch of its new Double Value MenuSM. Checkers/Rally's has reinvented the fast food value menu concept by loading its Double Value Menu with a number of choices and flavors to satisfy any appetite. Unlike a typical value menu, Checkers/Rally's Double Value Menu features Single Deals, Double Deals and Mix & Match, allowing its guests to get the food they crave at the price they want to pay, all day, every day...

New franchisee brings concept to the state

November 26, 2007 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL – Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants, announced that the first Checkers restaurant in the State of Minnesota opened today, November 20th, 2007, at 1011 Robert Street South, West St. Paul, MN. This is the first restaurant for franchise group, Check of Minnesota, Inc.

"We are very pleased to further expand our presence nationally, and are excited to add Minnesota to the list of states where we are located," said Ron Levondosky, Executive Vice President of Franchise at Checkers Drive-In Restaurant, Inc. "We are proud to celebrate this great milestone with Check of Minnesota and look forward to introducing Checkers signature full-flavored burgers, fries, shakes and sandwiches to the people of St...

Double drive-thru chain introduces the Big Cheesy Double

October 22, 2007 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL – Cheese lovers now have a cause to rejoice with the introduction of Checkers®/Rally's® latest irresistible burger: the Big Cheesy Double.

Offered as a limited time promotion, Checkers/Rally's Big Cheesy Double is a cheese lover's dream. This double cheeseburger comes with not one, but three kinds of cheese, providing the kind of Fully Loaded Flavor that can only be found at Checkers and Rally's. The Big Cheesy Double flavorfully pairs American, pepperjack and creamy cheddar cheese sauce on top of two juicy, all-beef, hand-seasoned burger patties and is accented with diced red onions, crispy pickles, ketchup, mustard and served on a toasted sesame seed bun...

Campaign introduces chain's new Big Cheesy Double

October 18, 2007 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL - Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants and parent company of both Checkers® and Rally's® concepts, today launched its all-new television advertising campaign. The campaign kicks-off by introducing the brand's newest irresistible burger: the Big Cheesy Double.

The campaign, which was created by ML Rogers of New York, features a new tagline, "little place.BIG TASTE(SM)," replacing the successful "You Gotta Eat™" tagline that Checkers/Rally's had been using for the past 7 years. This new campaign and tagline serve to more strategically differentiate Checkers/Rally's from its competitors, while simultaneously focusing on the distinctive and crave-worthy flavor that is synonymous with the brand...

October 05, 2007 // Franchising.com // TAMPA, FL – Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest double drive-thru restaurant chain, today announced that it has secured a deal to develop 20 new Checkers® restaurants in Las Vegas, expanding the chain's reach in the West. The franchise and development agreement was made with new franchisees, partners David Meldrum and Nick Nasrollahi.

This new development agreement represents the chain's first franchise deal for the State of Nevada and is a significant step towards the Company's strategic growth plans for the Western United States.

Exact locations for the new Checkers restaurants in Las Vegas have yet to be determined.

According to franchisee, Nick Nasrollahi, who previously worked with the Jack-In-The-Box® organization for 19 years, his partner and he were attracted to Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc...

Chain brings college football's biggest intrastate rivalry from the gridiron to the double drive-thru

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest chain of double drive-thru restaurants and Official Burger sponsor of both the University of Florida Gators® and Florida State Seminoles®, today announced that it is bringing back its popular "Choose Your Champ" promotion for a fourth year to participating locations in Florida. Checkers® challenges Gator and Seminole fans to take the competition to the drive-thru, while providing scholarship and educational funding to both universities.

During the 2007 football season, Checkers guests in Florida can vote for their favorite home state team by ordering a Gators Combo or Seminoles Combo, with a portion of the proceeds of each Combo sold benefiting the respective school's athletic scholarship fund...

Double drive-thru chain promotes new extended hours by premiering the No. 28 Checkers "late night" car at the NASCAR® Busch Series race in Daytona

TAMPA, FL – July 2, 2007 – Checkers®/Rally's®, the Official Burger and Drive-Thru Restaurant of NASCAR®, has extended its hours to midnight or later at most restaurant locations nationwide. To promote its new extended hours initiative, the double drive-thru chain is premiering the new No. 28 Checkers "late night" car at the July 6th NASCAR® Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

On Friday, July 6th, the No. 28 Checkers "late night" car, owned by Jay Robinson Racing, will be steered by driver Robert Richardson Jr. for its inaugural run...

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest double drive-thru restaurant chain, extends its hours to midnight or later at most participating Checkers and Rally's restaurants nationwide.

Tampa, FL, June 21, 2007 --(PR.com)-- When that late night food craving kicks in, you can now feed your hunger with what you really want: Checkers® and Rally's® mouthwatering, full flavored burgers, chicken sandwiches, shakes and fries. Beginning this week, most participating Checkers and Rally's restaurants nationwide are open to midnight or later.

"We chose to extend our hours at many of our restaurants across the country in response to consumer demand," said Rick Silva, President and CEO of Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc...