As the better breakfast brand prepares to open another eight restaurants before 2017 comes to a close, it’s bringing new team members on board to provide its franchisees and employees with more support.

Since Famous Toastery first opened its doors for business in 2005, the brand has been experiencing rapid growth. And that impressive expansion rate has only skyrocketed since the brand introduced its franchising opportunity in 2013—Famous Toastery has opened six restaurants so far this year, with plans to launch another eight before 2017 comes to a close. That trend is one that’s expected to continue in the months and years to come. In fact, the better breakfast concept is already scheduled to open over 20 stores in 2018. So, in order to keep up with its rapid development, Famous Toastery is actively making an effort to improve its operations.

“When we launched our first restaurant in North Carolina, we never could have imagined that we’d become a rapidly growing franchise with a nationwide presence. But demand for our concept is only getting stronger in communities across the country, and it’s our responsibility to keep up,” said Robert Maynard, founder and CEO of Famous Toastery. “In order to provide our franchisees and employees with the best support system possible, we’ve had to expand our corporate team alongside our franchise system. And as our internal team continues to grow, we’re finding that our local owners are experiencing even more success.”

In an effort to enhance and tighten up its overall operations, Famous Toastery brought David Burgess on to be the brand’s director of operations. Burgess joined the Famous Toastery team after serving as the regional senior manager and culinary coach at California Pizza Kitchen, meaning that he brings a level of expertise surrounding new store openings, research and development of new food items, training and operations programs, and labor focused action plans to the table.

But according to Maynard, it’s not just Burgess’ professional experience that makes them a good fit for Famous Toastery. It also has to do with onboarding him at the opportune time.

“Don’t hire too soon and don’t hire too late. You need to bring new people on board as you need them, and the timing of it all is critical. For example, we hired a director of operations last year, and a few months ago we brought a general manager on board for all of our corporate locations. We also hired a head trainer to help our franchisees hit the ground running as soon as they sign on to open up their own restaurant. But we didn’t add them to the mix all at once—their positions were staggered to keep pace with our development,” said Maynard. “As more Famous Toastery locations open and more local owners commit to multi-unit agreements, we have to bring new people on board. But it’s essential to hire with intent and purpose—you can only improve your operations if you’re hiring for the right reasons.”

Going forward, Famous Toastery is planning to continue making changes to its operations and development strategies, including the addition of new corporate team members when necessary. By making an active effort to enhance its system, Maynard says that the brand will continue to attract the best franchisees.

“Franchise brands are only as strong as the people behind them, both on the franchisee and franchisor sides of the business. Right now, I’m confident that we have one of the best teams in the business working to improve the Famous Toastery brand,” said Maynard. “I’m looking forward to working together with our entire franchise system to improve the way that we operate. At the end of the day, that’s how we’re going to set our local owners up for success.”