The infamous Donelson Captain D's, linked to the grisly 1997 "Fast Food Murders," permanently closed its doors on Oct. 5, reviving memories of one of Nashville's most notorious crimes.
Located on Lebanon Pike in Donelson, the seafood fast-food restaurant now bears a simple "closed" sign facing one of the suburb's busiest streets.
The Captain D's headquarters are in Nashville and the first-ever restaurant opened in Donelson in 1969.
The reason for the closure is unknown, and Captain D's has not responded to The Tennessean's request for comment. A Mt. Juliet location closed Sept. 27.
When and where was Captain D's started?
According to Captain D's online history, the seafood chain opened as Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers in Donelson on Aug. 15, 1969.
Created to offer seafood at affordable
prices, the single restaurant quickly grew to 15 locations by 1973. The company rebranded to Captain D's in 1974, shifting its focus on fish, shrimp and classic seafood dishes.
Today, Captain D's operates more than 500 locations across the U.S. and Canada, with locations concentrated throughout the South and extending as far west as Colorado and as far north as Michigan.
The fast-food chain is headquartered in Nashville.
What are the "Fast Food Murders"?
The "Fast Food Murders" were a series of robberies and killings carried out by Paul Dennis Reid Jr., later dubbed the "Fast Food Killer."
The murder spree began on Feb. 16, 1997, when Reid entered the Donelson Captain D's under the guise of applying for a job. He then forced employee Sarah Jackson, 16, and manager, Steve Hampton, 25, into the restaurant's cooler and shot them both before stealing money from the business, according to court records.
Reid later murdered three more employees at a McDonald's in Hermitage and kidnapped and killed two Baskin-Robbins workers in Clarksville. Seven people were killed during Reid's 67-day spree, and he was sentenced to death.
Reid died at the age of 55 in 2013 while on Tennessee's death row at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution from pneumonia related complications, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.
The recent challenges for Captain D's in Tennessee
The closing of the Donelson Captain D's marks the third difficulty the franchise has faced in its home state in the last three months.
In September, another longtime Middle Tennessee Captain D's location closed in Mt. Juliet, reducing the chain's local footprint and drawing attention because of the franchise roots in Nashville. The cause of closure was not divulged, and Juliet City Commissioner Ray Justice estimated the restaurant has been a Captain D's franchise since the mid-1990s.
A Captain D's location in Cleveland near Chattanooga, was fined more than $62,000 in August after a federal investigation found violations of child labor laws. The U.S. Department of Labor discovered that an underaged worker was operating the manual fryer and performing other tasks barred by federal law.
Reporter Andy Humbles contributed to this report.
Peter Burditt covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact him at PBurditt@nashvill.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Donelson Captain D's closes decades after infamous 'Fast Food Murders'
