Worcester Business Journal
June 2025
Checkers, a burger-focused fast food chain with more than 700 locations across the country, is opening its first New England restaurant at a former Honey Dew Donuts location at 99 Gold Star Blvd. in Worcester.
The franchise will be operated by Mouhamad Saleem and Kelly Moughal, two franchisees who operate existing Checkers, Subway, Little Caesars, and Pizza Hut locations up and down the East Coast. This includes Little Caesars and Subway locations in Worcester, according to a Tuesday press release from Worcester-based real estate firm Kelleher & Sadowsky Associates.
Checkers was founded in 1986 in Mobile, Alabama, later merging with Kentucky-based Rally’s in 1999, according to QSR Magazine. Despite the merger, the restaurants continue to operate with their own branding, both with menus focusing on burgers, chicken sandwiches, french fries, and shakes. The firm is now headquartered in Tampa.
The former Honey Dew at the Worcester site closed in March, according to MassLive. The property is owned by Commercial Management Inc. of Waltham, according to City of Worcester property records.
Mark Johns and Thomas Bodden of Kelleher & Sadowsky completed the transaction on behalf of the property’s owner.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
