Breakfast may be the most underappreciated daypart in the restaurant industry. But for Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, it’s a competitive advantage. And Lucas Jovita, Keke’s senior director of finance, lies at the heart of turning that advantage into measurable growth.

With a deep understanding of franchise finance, operational efficiency and cost management, Jovita is helping Keke’s navigate everything from labor and food costs to site selection, construction optimization and scaling strategies. Under his leadership, the brand is balancing affordability with a high-quality guest experience, keeping costs low while helping franchisees maximize profitability. 

As Keke’s continues to refine its model and plan for expansion, Jovita is looking ahead to what could be a pivotal year for the brand and the franchisees who are part of its growth story.

1851 Franchise sat down with Jovita to discuss the benefits of a limited-daypart model and what’s in store for 2026. Here’s what he had to say:

1851 Franchise: When we talk about the breakfast and brunch segment, it inherently has lower food costs. What are the key ingredients in the categories (eggs, dairy, bread, produce, meats)? Where do the advantages lie and how does that compare to full-service operations?

Lucas Jovita: From an operations standpoint, the number of ingredients is pretty small. Our top 20 ingredients represent about 60% of everything we buy. So, we have a tight number of SKUs. There’s a lot of velocity with our top 20 items, which helps with waste.

Last year wasn’t a great example because of the egg crisis. Eggs are a huge part of what we do (about 12% of everything we buy). But in a typical year, theoretical food costs for breakfast items range from 15% to 20%. Many of those items go through the egg station (about 30 to 40% of what we sell). They’re high-velocity items, easy to cook and have a 15 to 20% food cost. That makes it attractive from a food cost standpoint.

That’s excluding the challenges we faced with the avian flu this year.

1851: When targeting those food cost percentages for Keke’s, how does that compare with benchmarks in full-service restaurants or the fast-casual/QSR space?

Jovita: Full-service depends on the concept. But it’s generally 25 to mid-30%. Our food cost is about five to 10 basis points lower than full-service concepts. Dinner tends to have a higher cost of goods as a percentage of sales and lunch has a little leverage. But breakfast is even better.

1851: To what extent does having a limited daypart simplify operations? It obviously reduces waste. But are there hidden cost trade-offs like idle equipment or staffing flexibility?

Jovita: There are fixed costs. But limited hours help. For example, if you’re driving $2 million in sales over six hours, really, your busy hours are nine to one. You’re driving most of your sales in that particular window. Labor costs are more efficient because you can schedule team members when it’s busy (as opposed to during slower periods, like in full-service restaurants).

Now, with full-day operations, you have unproductive hours after lunch before dinner or happy hour. Whereas here, it’s turn-and-burn. When you’re busy, team members are in. When you’re not, you can cut them. That makes labor more efficient.

Limited hours also allow us to have one or two managers per store, depending on volume. Full-day operations might require four or five managers to cover all shifts.

1851: But, even in this segment, there are still things squeezing margins. What are the biggest factors and how are you coaching franchisees to mitigate those factors?

Jovita: There are three main components: labor, food cost and rent. Labor is a big input cost. Food cost is also important. Rent is critical because the business only has limited hours to generate revenue. So, you don’t want to overextend on rent in a location that looks busy at night but is closed during your operating hours.

I’ll give you an example. You wouldn’t want to be next to an NBA stadium because the games played in that stadium are at night. You’d pay high rent – but miss the foot traffic. 

Selecting the correct site is really key.

1851: The last few years have obviously been turbulent economically. Inflation has affected everyone. How are you navigating that without frequent price hikes that could upset your core customers?

Jovita: Even with inflation, our guest satisfaction scores and net sentiment are best in class. That gives us some pricing power. We’ve increased prices modestly (while not fully covering input costs). Supply chain efficiency and menu engineering are also a focus. But the ultimate goal is pricing. We’re hoping to price for two-thirds of inflation and find efficiencies to cover the rest. Not all those costs are passed on to guests.

1851: In your capital structure and footprint – kitchen size, equipment, square footage – it’s similar to full-service or fast casual, right? How do you optimize fixed overhead to ensure franchisees are profitable?

Jovita: Keke’s restaurants saw an impressive average AUV of $2,089,007 in 2024 for all franchised restaurants that reported through the iLumen Reporting Software, with the top half of franchise restaurants seeing net sales of $2,589,666, according to the brand’s most recent Franchise Disclosure Document. * This allows our franchisees to see a bigger return on investment. Brand standards and demand, particularly on weekends, help cover fixed costs.

1851: And as you scale more franchise units, when do economies of scale kick in? Are there frictions in realizing efficiencies now?

Jovita: Having been a part of a larger system like Denny’s gave us some leverage for contracts, purchasing and support. This allowed us to generate savings and economies of scale, which we maintain today. Technology transitions are helping as well. Construction costs are a focus. We aim to bring them down even more.

When you hit a 1.5 to 2 sales-to-investment ratio, that’s the sweet spot. A payback period of three to four years allows any concept to grow quickly.

1851: That three to four-year payback seems to be the magic number. Brands that can engineer that model tend to explode because institutional investors and multi-unit operators can see the ROI.

Jovita: We’re always working hard to get there. Reducing construction costs is a big initiative and will drive growth.

1851: The brands that can do it attract serious growth…

Jovita: Next year is going to be massive for us. With the egg crisis behind us, we’re focusing on franchise growth, controlling costs and leveraging technology. The foundation is laid for robust comp sales and profitability.

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/kekes-breakfast-cafe

About Keke's Breakfast Cafe

Keke's Breakfast Cafe is a Florida-born restaurant chain specializing in breakfast, brunch, and lunch favorites. Known for its freshly made meals, Keke's offers a wide range of options, including pancakes, waffles, omelets, and other classic dishes. With a commitment to high-quality ingredients and excellent customer service, Keke's Breakfast Cafe provides a welcoming and relaxed dining experience for customers of all ages. The cafe currently operates in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Nevada, Texas, Colorado and California, with other locations in multiple U.S. states slated in the near future. For more information, please visit www.kekes.com and follow Keke's on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

* ( We had 25 franchise restaurants report full-year information through iLumen.)