Metro Areas Catch Checkers’ Eye

Major metro areas are to going to see a few more Checkers Drive-In Restaurants. The Tampa, Fla., double-drive through chain has signed agreements with four franchisees to develop a dozen new restaurants in Baltimore, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia. It’s all part of a strategic growth plan to expand the brand’s presence in existing markets, as well as in new regions across the country. The first of four units in the West Bronx is scheduled to open in November 2011; the remaining three should be completed by ’14. Both Detroit units will open this July. The first of four new Checkers in Philadelphia will open in May. Two other stores are slated for Hagerstown, Md., outside of Baltimore. Currently, Checkers has more than 800 restaurants in the United States and is seeking several new development agreements in key markets including Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, N.C., New York, and Orlando, Fla.