Famous Toastery Targets Tennessee for Continued Southern Growth Momentum

Famous Toastery, the North Carolina-based restaurant franchise with 26 units, has made a name for itself with a menu of “Famously Fresh” breakfast, brunch and lunch offerings. The brand’s franchisees, growing throughout neighborhoods in North Carolina since opening in 2005 and franchising in 2013, have become locally Famous as pillars in their communities. Each restaurant provides not only uncompromisingly fresh and decadent meals, but a hub for friends, families and neighbors to get together. Now, the brand is looking to leverage that strong positioning in its home state to expand into neighboring markets across the South, including Tennessee.

“When we looked at where we wanted to focus on growing the brand, we ultimately decided that growing in concentric circles outside of Charlotte made the most sense from a supply chain and support perspective,” said Vice President of Franchise Development Eric Gustafsson. “Tennessee is on the western border of where we want to develop. If you look at where we are located currently, we are only about three-and-a-half-hours from the border.”

Gustafsson says the area’s impressive population growth — Tennessee is the ninth-fastest growing state in the U.S. — means there is going to be a big increase in the demand for restaurants. And based on Famous Toastery’s success in the south so far, the concept will be a perfect option to fill that demand.

“Tennessee has a very similar feel to North Carolina, where our restaurants have already proven to resonate,” said Gustafsson. “This is southern comfort food, filling the demand for high-quality, fresh ingredients. We are confident that our southern country vibe and feel will resonate well in the state.”

With the brand’s mantra of “Be Famous” and a menu of “Famously Fresh” food made in its scratch kitchen, Famous Toastery is beloved in all the communities it serves. Recently, the brand rolled out several new menu items, including a Protein Power Bowl, Shrimp and Grits and a partnership with the North Carolina-based brand, Abby’s Better Nut Butter. 

“The other thing to consider is the strength of our brand recognition,” said Gustafsson. “We know we have advocates in the state of Tennessee, as there are a lot of people in the state who travel back and forth to North Carolina to visit family and friends. We already have rabid fans there, we just need to find the right franchisees willing to partner with us and help us reach them.”

And those incoming franchisees can be confident they will have all the support they need to bring Famous Toastery to a new state. “Being that close to headquarters helps franchisees with the supply chain for one,” said Gustafsson. “Since we already have an established supply chain in North Carolina, it will be a lot easier to open than it would in a far away state like California. From a support perspective, we can easily send corporate team members over for on-site training and they can be there for franchise owners if anything comes up. We are able to be more hands on. Not to mention the network of experienced franchise operators that incoming franchisees in Tennessee will have near them.”

Overall, the Famous Toastery team has identified room to add 17 new locations throughout the state of Tennessee. Some of the markets primed for growth included Knoxville, Chattanooga, Memphis and Nashville, Gustafsson says. 

Looking ahead, the Famous Toastery team aims to have 50 locations open by the end of 2024. Five to seven deals will be in North Carolina, and the rest in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida. 

“As we ramp up our expansion significantly in new states across the south, the time has never been better for the right partners to come in and help us grow at the unit level,” said Mike Sebazco, Famous Toastery President. “We are confident that Tennessee will be a perfect market for Famous Toastery and we are excited to bring our ‘Be Famous’ mindset to a whole new group of happy customers.”

The cost to open a Famous Toastery franchise ranges from $575,500 to $999,500 including a franchise fee starting at $45,000. To learn about franchising opportunities, please visit www.bestbreakfastfranchise.com.