The Captain D’s Seafood franchise ended in St. Joseph with the closing Friday of the restaurant at 2709 N. Belt Highway. The restaurant is expected to reopen under a new brand and new owner.

Reel ‘Em In, LLC., a Kansas City holding company that owns eight Captain D’s in the Kansas City-metro area, sold the St. Joseph restaurant. Franchisee President Brian Studdard said keeping the aging building open would have required a remodel by purchasing Captain D’s new décor, which recreates the allure of a dock-side seafood shack. He received two unsolicited offers for the restaurant in April. Mr. Studdard said the new owners indicated they would open a restaurant at that location.

Reel ‘Em In purchased the company-owned restaurant in 2001. Mr. Studdard said the local market showed a strong and loyal customer base.

“There are certainly some new areas in St. Joe worthy of looking into,” he said. “I wouldn’t rule out us coming back to St. Joe one day.”

City health records once touted Captain D’s as “one of the cleanest fast-food restaurants.”

However, in 2008, the franchise began racking up several critical violations. An inspection last Monday found raw fish being held above temperature in a broken cooler, along with three other critical violations.