Checkers & Rally’s Debuts Houston’s First Stand-Alone Restaurant

Checkers & Rally’s Debuts Houston’s First Stand-Alone Restaurant

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Husband and Wife Team Bring Fearlessly Original Fast-Food Experiences in the Lone Star State

June 13, 2025 // Franchising.com // HOUSTON – Checkers & Rally’s, the iconic double drive-thru brand known for its legendary taste, undeniable value, and game-changing innovation, is thrilled to announce the opening of its first stand-alone location in Houston. Conveniently located at 10855 Jones Road, the new restaurant is set to open this June and is spearheaded by the husband-and-wife duo, Salimah and Aqeel Virani.

“We’ve been watching Checkers & Rally’s grow across Texas, and we knew the time was right to bring that momentum to Houston in a bigger way,” said Aqeel Virani. “While a lot of brands are still figuring out how to adapt, this brand already has the systems and speed in place. For us, it wasn’t just a smart move—it felt like the right move.”

Houston-based entrepreneurs Salimah and Aqeel Virani bring complementary skillsets to the business. Salimah has spent years in the restaurant and hospitality space, where she built a reputation for creating welcoming environments, leading high-performing teams, and delivering exceptional guest service. She’ll lead day-to-day operations and be the face of the restaurant in the community. Aqeel brings a background in engineering and corporate strategy, with a strong focus on building systems, optimizing performance, and scaling with intention. Together, they’re combining heart and hustle to introduce Checkers & Rally’s bold flavor and fearless energy to Northwest Houston.

“Aqeel and Salimah represent the kind of passionate, driven owners and operators we look for to grow the Checkers brand,” said Robert Bhagwandat, Senior Director of Franchise Development at Checkers Drive-In Restaurants. “As we expand across Houston, the opening of our first stand-alone restaurant in the market is a major milestone. With their leadership, we’re confident this location will deliver the legendary taste, undeniable value, and game-changing innovation that define a fearlessly original Checkers experience.”

Merged in 1999 to form one concept, Checkers & Rally’s primarily operates through a proven franchise model, in which owners benefit from brand recognition, operational support, and marketing resources. Potential franchise prospects can develop on less than half of an acre, which is half the size of competing drive-thru concepts. Checkers & Rally’s current strategy is targeting select markets throughout the United States, particularly in Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Arizona, and California.

About Checkers and Rally’s

Based in Tampa, Fla., Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., an iconic and innovative drive-thru restaurant chain known for its bold, craveable food, famous fries, exceptional value, and people-first attitude, operates and franchises both Checkers® and Rally's® restaurants. With over 700 restaurants and room to grow, Checkers and Rally's is a proven brand with flexible building formats that is aggressively expanding across the country. Checkers and Rally's is dedicated to being a place where franchisees and employees who work hard can create opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities. In recent years, the brand has earned several of the industry's most prestigious awards including Franchise Times Top 500, Entrepreneur Top 500, Franchise Business Review’s “Satisfaction Award,” “Top Food Franchise” in 2024 and “Most Profitable Franchise” in 2024 The brand also earned recognition for its best-in-class training and education programs, winning four prestigious Brand Hall Group awards in 2024.

To learn more about Checkers and Rally’s franchise opportunities, visit checkersfranchising.com. For more information about Checkers and Rally’s, visit checkers.com.

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Media Contact:

Cia Abulencia
(773) 808-3096
[email protected] 


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