Drive-thru fast-food chain will make Sacramento-area debut this year
Move over In-N-Out Burger, Carl’s Jr., McDonald’s and other local purveyors of burgers, fries and shakes. Checkers is coming to the Sacramento area.
The Tampa, Fla.-based restaurant chain, formally known as Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc., will open its first Sacramento-area restaurant before year’s end at 7911 Auburn Blvd.
While the chain has a presence in Southern California, Checkers will be a new experience for greater Sacramento-area residents. Citrus Heights resident Ben Aibuedefe will operate the franchise.
Nationally, Checkers Drive-In Restaurants has more than 800 sites operating under two restaurant name brands: Checkers and Rally’s.
Checkers dates back to 1986 and started in Mobile, Ala. Rally’s Hamburgers Inc. started in 1985 in Louisville, Ky. The operations merged in 1999.
The local restaurant will be built off-site as a modular building and ultimately delivered to the Auburn Boulevard location, company officials said.
“The modular buildings are projected to be faster to construct and less expensive than traditional buildings, with potential average savings relative to traditional methods of up to $100,000 or more, said chain’s spokeswoman Katie Murray. “These designs also save five to 12 weeks in the development timeline as the buildings are manufactured in controlled environments off site.”
Checkers menus also include hot dogs, wings, chicken sandwiches and specialized desserts.
In March, New York-based Oak Hill Capital Partners announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. in a transaction valued at about $525 million. Oak Hill has an office in Menlo Park.
Mark Glover: 916-321-1184, @markhglover
This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Drive-thru fast-food chain will make Sacramento-area debut this year."