Famous Toastery’s Corporate Chef of 15 Years Becomes Multi-Unit Franchise Owner

Since its founding in 2005, Famous Toastery, the 25+ unit North Carolina based franchise, has offered the freshest breakfast and brunch menu offerings around, and that’s largely thanks to executive chef Julio Heras, who has been with the brand since its start. After more than a decade of watching Famous Toastery franchisees turn their investments into thriving businesses, Heras decided to get in on the action himself, opening two of his own restaurants with the fast growing brand.

Heras grew up in New York and often watched his father and brother, both chefs, work. Their passion rubbed off on Heras, who eventually found his own flair in the kitchen, but not before working his way through just about every role in the restaurant.

“I was involved in the restaurant business with them. It all started with washing dishes, and I went from there,” said Heras. “I moved on to prepping meat and salads. Then I became a busboy, then the pantry guy, then the grill guy, then the pancake person. I just kept moving on, and it worked out.”

The bulk of Heras’s experience was in the breakfast segment, and his knowledge of every aspect within the kitchen gave him a leg-up in the food and beverage industry.

For nine years, Heras worked as the executive chef at Friend of a Farmer, an acclaimed pioneer of the farm-to-table movement. He credits the menu inspiration at Famous Toastery to his time at that high-end New York City restaurant, where he crafted farm-to-table, fresh, made-to-order food for customers who didn’t mind waiting in lines out of the door.

“The reason we have Famous Toastery is because I worked at Friend of a Farmer,” explained Heras. “The fresh, healthy recipes I created over there — that was my element. I knew people loved that cuisine, so I was able to translate that menu to Famous Toastery, and it has been a hit.”

Heras says the quality, fresh ingredients at Famous Toastery make cooking more exciting, and the diners are able to tell the difference as well. A couple of his best-loved menu items include the The Avocado Omelet and the Left Coast B.L.T.

CEO and Co-Founder of Famous Toastery, Robert Maynard, said Heras’s role in the brand’s success is foundational.

"Julio has played such an integral role at Famous Toastery for over 15 years now,” Maynard said. “He joined us in the kitchen and then saw the potential to own his own restaurants, and he has really expanded the Famous Toastery name in our home market. We'd love to have others with a culinary background who appreciate fresh food join our growing franchise."

Heras says he is grateful for the corporate team and has a great rapport with them, particularly Maynard, Brian Burchill (Co-Founder and CBO), and Adam Gordon (CFO).

“They're great people. They're my friends. And I’m now able to do my own thing as a franchisee and run my restaurants and make sure we are all rolling as a part of this bigger, growing system,” he said.

Heras has fully embraced his new role as franchisee, spending one day a week in one location and three days a week in the other, making sure the kitchen and processes are running smoothly. And Heras isn’t satisfied yet. He says he plans to open at least one more Famous Toastery location within the next couple of years.

For now, Heras is “happy with the way it’s going” and is content building up his current franchise locations while keeping one eye on his plans for the next.