In 1975, Danner was president of the company, which announced the renaming of Mr. D's Seafood and Hamburgers as "Captain D's" and the launch of a national franchising program.

By this time, Captain D's menu was edited to focus on seafood and side dishes, and the chain had expanded to 32 locations that earned more than $10 million annually.

In 1976, Captain D's was held by the rebranded Shoney's Inc., after Danner and Schoenbaum sold the Big Boy trademark to Marriott Corporation.

[1][3][4][5][6][7][8][excessive citations] Throughout the 1970s, the company grew rapidly and added special programs like the Kids' Birthday Club and children's comic books.

Nine former employees and job applicants of Shoney's Inc. restaurants sought more than $500 million as well as an affirmative action plan authorized by the court to prevent discriminatory policies in the future.

The settlement was awarded to the more than 40,000 former, then-current and prospective restaurant employees who claimed they were discriminated against or were ordered to engage in discriminatory practices between February 1988 and April 1991.

The side dishes include coleslaw, French fries, green beans, okra, broccoli, baked potato, corn, mac & cheese and hush puppies.