Over a decade ago, Famous Toastery was born by two friends from New York. One loved making breakfast dishes while the other had a knack for real estate. In a crowded space in Huntersville, North Carolina, Toast Café became a local favorite. After proving the concept’s potential with three corporately owned locations, co-founders Robert Maynard and Brian Burchill decided they should franchise the business. They also changed the name to be able to expand across state lines.
“After every weekend, we get inquiries from people looking to open a new location because they’ve experienced our made-from-scratch kitchen specials for themselves, and seen our unique “Every Server is Your Server” mentality first hand,” said Maynard, Famous Toastery’s CEO. “Our tremendous growth over the past few years has been unbelievable. We are on a trajectory to have 75 open stores in the next three years.”
So the real question is, why are franchisees flocking to the concept, and why is corporate continuing to develop? It’s a simple answer. Famous Toastery has the best tasting breakfast because the company uses the highest-quality ingredients. There’s also a lot of great territory available for new development, it has proven solid unit level economics. And at its core, Famous Toastery is a lifestyle brand.
Famous Toastery has return customers who make visits part of their routine. The newly updated menu offers a variety of healthier menu choices like salads and wraps, and the brand has also launched cage-free eggs, all on trend with American’s dining habits. Consumers can taste the difference, and it is proven in the restaurant sales numbers.
With just under $1.5 million as the Average Unit Sales, Famous Toastery’s business model is designed from the ground up to encourage high sales numbers, and repeat customers frequent their local Famous Toastery on a weekly basis. The company’s year over year same store sales increases are up nine percent, showing positive momentum for the brand that is only expected to continue to rise.
“Our first franchisees have been so successful that they keep wanting to come back and open more locations,” said Maynard. “When they opened, they couldn’t believe how much business they were getting, and they want to continue the trend by developing entire areas across the Carolinas.”
The Return on Investment is exceptional for a restaurant brand, but better yet, Famous Toastery also allow franchisees to have a life outside of their franchise location. With Famous Toastery, local owners can wrap up their days by 3 or 4 p.m. and be able to pick their children up from school and go watch their soccer games. Another bonus is that franchisees are surrounded by healthier food as opposed to grease and fried food that will make them smell like they’ve been in the kitchen all day.
All of these reasons combined show why the better breakfast franchise concept is so hot. As you can see, Famous Toastery is on to something special.