Checkers will open in Cape Coral on Feb. 13. Will more follow?
Cape Coral will get its first taste of Big Bufords and Checkerburgers when Checkers opens its highly anticipated location Tuesday, Feb. 13, on Skyline Boulevard, just off Trafalgar Parkway.
Here’s what we learned after chatting with owners Jason Setzer and Michael Quinn.
Meet the owners
In late May 2023, Checkers seemed to magically appear overnight at 1624 Skyline Blvd. That’s because it practically did.
“It’s a modular building that comes in two or three pieces,” Quinn said. “It’s constructed in a few days.”
It will be the 12th Checkers for Quinn and Setzer, who own 10 other locations in Florida and one in Mississippi, along with Pizza Hut and Moe’s franchises. While working for Pizza Hut 15 years ago, the two met, became friends and eventually business partners.
“We started with five in the Tampa area in 2019,” Quinn said. “We are hands-on operators. We have a team that is day-to-day. We will occasionally pop in.”
Both will be in attendance before, during and after the grand opening.
Cape Coral Checkers
Quinn and Setzer found this area through one of their developers.
“They brought this site to us,” Quinn said. “Cape Coral is such a good food town. We felt this is a great opportunity for us to continue to grow here. We want to be part of the community and Cape Coral area.”
They already have 60-plus employees ready to go.
“Our team has been practicing for a couple of weeks,” Quinn said. “We are very excited to be in this market.”
This Checkers will be open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily and will have a double drive-thru. Two lanes for ordering will merge into one, heading around the south side of the building.
Another single lane, running on the north side, is designated for orders placed ahead of time through the app and food delivery services such as DoorDash.
“There will be walkup service too,” Quinn said. “We have a small vestibule inside to order in.”
Checkers is across from Challenger Middle School on Skyline Boulevard, between Dollar General and The Learning Experience.
Access can be gained off Skyline or preferably around the back, off of SW 8th Place.
Quinn expects traffic to be “a bear for the first couple of weeks.”
“Then it should level out,” he said.
What’s on the menu
Checkers is different from other fast food places, according to Setzer, because it can fit on a smaller site and the “food is more decadent.”
“We have more ingredients on our burgers,” he said.
Those burgers (starting at $1.79 for a cheeseburger) are what the franchise is known for and sells the most of. They range from single cheeseburgers, double and triple burgers to melts and barbecue, fry-lover’s and bacon-based ones.
The Big Buford ($6.29), a favorite of Setzer’s, comes with two large hand-seasoned patties, topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise on a toasted bun.
Chicken items include tenders (starting at $5.49 for three), sandwiches ($3.39 and up) and bites ($3.79 for bites & fries box).
Mix n’ match deals begin with two items (Checkerburger, chili dog, spicy chicken or crispy fish sandwich) for $4.50. Meals with a small fry and drink are $3 more.
There are fish sandwiches ($3.29 and up), wings (starting at $9.19 for five), hot dogs ($1.79), a BLT ($1.39) mozzarella sticks ($3.59 and up for four) and fries — from small seasoned for $2.29 to large loaded for $5.79.
Sweets include cheesecake sundaes, milkshakes and cones.
More Checkers on the way
Based in Tampa, there are 800-plus Checkers & Rally’s (the companies merged in the late 1990s) in the U.S. and 140 in Florida. The Cape Coral location will be the second in the Charlotte, Lee and Collier county area. The other is in Port Charlotte.
In case you missed it: Our 13 favorite pizza places from Cape Coral to Bonita Springs
But Quinn and Setzer are out to change that.
“Our goal was always the Fort Myers area,” Quinn said. “Ideally we can have three to four in the area in the next three to four years. The local community has been very encouraging.”
Checkers, 1624 Skyline Blvd., Cape Coral; open 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily beginning Tuesday, Feb. 13; (239) 922-1070; checkersandrallys.olo.com
Robyn George is a food and dining writer for The Fort Myers News-Press. Send news to [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Checkers brings Big Bufords and Checkersburgers to Cape Coral
