1851

When compared to a lot of other franchisees, Justin Griffith&rsquo;s road to entrepreneurship followed a much different path.

While attending Mississippi State University, Griffith quickly made a name for himself in the world of college football. As a player for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, his impressive track record led him to being named the team&rsquo;s most valuable player. It wasn&rsquo;t long after until Griffith was recruited by the Atlanta Falcons in 2003&mdash;marking the beginning of his eight-year career in the NFL. He was a team member of the Falcons until 2006, and that same year, he was drafted by the Oakland Raiders. A year later, he joined the Seattle Seahawks.

Then, in 2010, Griffith suffered from a pinched spinal cord. The injury forced him to put an end to his career in the NFL. But for Griffith, that ending marked the beginning of the next important chapter in his life.

That same year, Griffith started a family. And alongside his wife and their newborn baby, he moved to North Carolina. It was there that he attended an Ascending Athletes meeting&mdash;a group that was founded in 1995 to help professional athletes make a successful transition into the business world&mdash;where he had the opportunity to talk to other attendees about franchising.

&ldquo;I had always been intrigued about starting my own business, but I had no background. I have coached before, and in that experience, my main task was to follow and fit a system. I found that, in a lot of ways, franchising was similar,&rdquo; Griffith said. &ldquo;In franchising, the hard work has already been done and a system has already been designed around what works and what doesn&rsquo;t work. It&rsquo;s up to a franchisee to then follow those guidelines. The same can be said for being a coach and an athlete&mdash;we bring in players and follow a playbook. We teach them how to run offense and defense. And similar to franchising, if you follow it, you have a chance to be successful.&rdquo;

While visiting the town of Concord, North Carolina, Griffith and his wife sat down at a <a href="http://ownatoastery.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=former-nfl-player-brings-famous-toastery-to-downtown-charlotte-6806" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Famous Toastery</a> for brunch. The experience left him wanting more, so a few weeks later, he once again sat down for breakfast&mdash;and once again, it was a memorable meal. He decided to return a third time with his wife and mother-in-law&mdash;and, just as he expected, everyone was blown away. Those three visits inspired Griffith to check out the <a href="http://famoustoastery.1851franchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=former-nfl-player-brings-famous-toastery-to-downtown-charlotte-6806" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Famous Toastery</a> website, where he was pleased to find that the brand was franchising. So he filled out the form online to learn more about the opportunity. Shortly after, he was contacted directly by Robert Maynard, Famous Toastery&rsquo;s founder and CEO. After just one meeting, he was sold on the business opportunity.

Now, Griffith is preparing to open his first Famous Toastery restaurant this March in downtown Charlotte&mdash;his first of two. And he&rsquo;s already eager to announce that he&rsquo;d like to have many more restaurants in the pipeline in the years to come.

&ldquo;What I really love about working with Famous Toastery is that it&rsquo;s a brand that values the right work-life balance. In the football world, hours can be ridiculous. With this, I can be out of the restaurant by 4 p.m., which gives me the chance to finally have a life outside of work,&rdquo; Griffith said. &ldquo;And that kind of opportunity is priceless.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Former NFL Player Brings Famous Toastery to Downtown Charlotte

1851 Franchise

Justin Griffith plans to apply football experience to running a new Famous Toastery restaurant in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

former-nfl-player-brings-famous-toastery-to-downtown-charlotte

HomeTeam Inspection Service

Good Day Columbus: Home Insurance Expert Reveals Why Central Ohio Premiums Are Rising and How to Combat Costs

rising-home-insurance-costs-ohio

CapitalSpring

Primetime Fitness Expands Crunch Portfolio With CapitalSpring’s Backing

primetime-fitness-expands-crunch-portfolio-with-capitalsprings-backing

Children's Lighthouse

How Children’s Lighthouse Franchisees Scale to Multiple Locations

how-childrens-lighthouse-franchisees-scale-to-multiple-locations

Express Employment Professionals

Betting on Himself: How Chris Brown Built an Express Employment Professionals Franchise From the Ground Up

betting-on-himself-how-chris-brown-built-an-express-employment-professionals-franchise-from-the-ground-up

Comfort Keepers

Comfort Keepers® Named One of America’s Best Home-Care Providers

comfort-keepers-named-one-of-americas-best-home-care-providers

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Development Website Builder

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

Potbelly to be Acquired by RaceTrac in $566 Million Deal 

racetrac-acquires-potbelly-in-566-million-deal

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities - 1851 Franchise Agg

Health Care Hiring Slowdown Highlights In-Home Care Franchise Opportunities 

health-care-hiring-slowdown-in-home-care-franchise-opportunities

Caribou Coffee Names Scott Kennedy CEO, Eyes Continued Growth

caribou-coffee-names-scott-kennedy-ceo-eyes-continued-growth

McDonald’s Launches New Extra Value Meals as Consumer Demand for Value Continues to Climb

mcdonalds-launches-extra-value-meals

Power Eats: Smoothie King Rolls Out Food Nationwide To Fuel Franchise Growth

smoothie-king-food-menu-power-eats

DevHub - Meet the Supplier - 1851 Franchise

DevHub: Scalable Digital Marketing for Franchises and Multi-Location Brands

devhub-meet-the-supplier

What It Really Feels Like To Franchise Your Business

what-it-really-feels-like-to-franchise-your-business

Mike Revak - Chief Business Officer - Sky Zone - Franchise Marketing Leaders - 1851 Franchise

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Mike Revak — President and Chief Business Officer, Sky Zone

top-25-franchise-marketing-leaders-mike-revak-chief-business-officer-sky-zone

Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders: Cathy Chavenet — Chief Marketing Officer, Paris Baguette

top-25-franchise-marketing-leaders-cathy-chavenet-chief-marketing-officer-paris-baguette

Hely and Hiral Patel Bring Their Longtime Dream to Life With The Brass Tap

brass-tap-franchise-pasadena-maryland-hely-hiral-patel

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ricki Oberoi and Layne's Chicken Fingers logo

Multi-Unit Wendy’s Operator Signs 12-Unit Deal With Layne’s Chicken Fingers

ricki-oberoi-laynes-chicken-fingers-growth

1851 Keyword - The Secret To Succeeding With a Part-Time Franchise Is Picking the Right Model

The Secret To Succeeding With a Part-Time Franchise Is Picking the Right Model

part-time-franchises-picking-the-right-model

1851 Franchise Deep Dive graphic with Sparkle Squad logo

Sparkle Squad Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

franchise-deep-dive-sparkle-squad-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data

Design with school-aged child standing on pencil with text "Education Franchises" and "<$500K"

Top Education Franchises Under $500K To Explore in 2025

top-education-franchises-under-500k

Former NFL Player Brings Famous Toastery to Downtown Charlotte

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS