Emerging Franchisors to Watch: Famous Toastery

Famous Toastery is a name the restaurant world needs to remember. The breakfast and lunch franchise is doing all of the right things to propel them to the top. Starting in a small house-turned-restaurant to having a presence within six East Coast states, Famous Toastery is growing quickly, spreading its franchisees-first mentality throughout the United States. Here is a little more about the brand.

Before ‘The Toast’ was Famous

In 2005, best friends Robert Maynard and Brian Burchill were at very different points in their lives. Robert worked on Wall Street and Brian was an aspiring North Carolina Chef. Having a great understanding of his best friend, Brian convinced Robert to visit him in North Carolina. Three days later, the two best friends, became business partners.

“He asked me to get involved and I basically told him that he was out of his mind. He said, ‘Look, just come and help me.’ He set up a car, plane ticket and a place to stay for a couple of days and by the third day we had a deposit on a space that was an existing restaurant,” explained Maynard.

Both Maynard and Burchill wanted to bring two things to the Huntersville, NC restaurant scene: fresh-made breakfast and a fun atmosphere. The two decided to invest in a small house that they turned into a restaurant. Before they knew it, Famous Toastery was born. Soon after the restaurant’s conception, the two adopted the “every server is your server” philosophy, which put the customer’s experience on a pedestal. Eight years later, Famous Toastery grew to three locations within North Carolina. From there, the owners decided to share their successful business with the franchise world. 

To this day, Robert Maynard explains his business by utilizing the term “Better Breakfast.”

“Better breakfast is still an untapped market. We have a tremendous following of loyal and regular customers because our brand is up-front about where our food is coming from. We are the antithesis of the greasy spoon. Everything we serve is created that day. We come in early to prep and make everything from scratch daily—from salad dressings to roasted turkey and baked chicken. No detail is too inconsequential—everything is fresh and made with the best, natural ingredients.”

Famous Toastery “spreading” its fame

The better breakfast franchise has 26 locations with at least five more locations signed and in development. The brand seeks as many as 30 more locations to be in development within the next 18 months. These locations looked to be sold to prospective franchisees in single or multi-unit packages.

The franchise is preparing itself for more growth with open territories in Virginia, Ohio, Colorado, Kentucky and even its home state of North Carolina. Maynard explains why the brand is currently targeting Louisville.

“Famous Toastery is a family-oriented restaurant, and Louisville is a very family-oriented city,” said Maynard. “We’re not a grab-and-go shop where we are rushing people in and out the door at lunchtime. People come to us for a delicious breakfast or lunch with their friends or family, so we are focused on great food and impeccable service. That’s going to be very received in Louisville.”

Toasting to Famous Toastery

Brunch has been revitalized throughout the United States, and Famous Toastery is licking its chops. There are major plans to take advantage of this weekend trend as it is right in the brand’s wheelhouse. Maynard says “Brunch is hot right now throughout the U.S. and no other concept can match the way we do it.” Famous Toastery’s brunch is extremely versatile with meals all over the spectrum pertaining to the healthy customer and those looking to loosen up earlier in the day. The brand has a unique edge over its competitors is allowing its customers to indulge in alcoholic beverages.

The brand plans to utilize the momentum built last year to grow its presence within the franchise industry. Maynard explains, “Everyone right now is looking for the newest, freshest, most unique breakfast and brunch options,” said Maynard. “We were looking to disrupt the better-breakfast segment, and if you look at our success so far in 2018, you can see that is exactly what we have done.”

Investing in the Toast

There are many reasons to invest within the Famous Toastery franchise brand. First, the franchise provides freedom to franchisees.

“Our hours are very attractive to franchisees and their employees. This is a business opportunity that yields the same volume of sales as a quick-service restaurant that’s open 24-hours, but it allows employees a better quality of life—they’re able to wrap up their day and head home to their families by 4 p.m,” explains Maynard.

On top of that, the brand’s proven model has brought their franchisees success. The brand takes a “ground up” approach, which encourages high sales numbers. The model’s marketing mindset allows the concept to catch on with consumers, which, again, leads to high sales numbers. In fact, the brand has seen 9% of same store sales growth within the past year.

Moreover, Famous Toastery considers itself a lifestyle brand. One of the many reasons why Maynard and Burchill opened their first restaurant is because of the importance of work-life balance. The two wanted to implement it moving forward within their lives and strive to implement it with anyone joining the Famous Toastery family. Maynard explains, “We believe the franchisees are the most important part of the equation. If they’re happy and making money, their customers will be happy. They’re the ones putting the money up and investing in the brand and the people behind it – we take that very personally.”