Why Toasted Yolk Café’s First-Ever Franchisee Continues To Open Multiple Units

Toasted Yolk Café, the Houston-based, better-breakfast, brunch and lunch brand with 15 locations in Texas, has proven to be uniquely resilient against the COVID-19 pandemic due to a well-positioned concept and streamlined business model. Now, the brand is growing exponentially as qualified franchisees like Cyril Thomas continue to expand their footprint. 

Thomas, the Toasted Yolk’s first-ever franchisee, opened his second location in Cypress, Texas in July 2020. In addition, the brand opened three additional locations last year in League City, Beaumont and Fulshear. Moreover, the brand’s six newest franchise units are all within its top 10 locations ranked by average unit volume, showcasing the brand’s lucrative franchise model, in-demand consumer offering and robust infrastructure of support.

A food lover, serial entrepreneur and business owner based in Katy, Texas, Thomas has spent his career investing in several different verticals, including property management, healthcare operations and consulting, but for years, he dreamed of joining the restaurant sector. Six years ago, Thomas discovered Toasted Yolk while on a road trip with his family. 

“We like to try local restaurants when we are traveling, and we found Toasted Yolk online while driving through Houston. I immediately thought it sounded great,” he said. “We absolutely loved the restaurant, and I was curious about franchising, but they had just opened and weren’t considering pursuing franchising at that point. Four years later, we were on another vacation and decided to stop at the Toasted Yolk again because we loved it so much the first time. I decided to ask about franchising options again and, sure enough, they had just started.”

Thomas reached out to the Toasted Yolk team, including co-founders Chris Milton and Matt DeMott, and began working on the process of opening a location in Katy. “As the first franchisee, the corporate team was very much learning the ropes and navigating the process along with me,” he said. “But they held my hand throughout the whole process, and we haven’t looked back since.”

How Toasted Yolk Café Positions Franchisees for Success 

After opening the Katy location in 2018, Thomas says the concept caught on in the area and became a popular destination in his community. “The Toasted Yolk taps into a specialty niche, and brunch has a special place in any community,” he said. “What makes us really stand out is our ability to offer choices that most other restaurants don’t have.”

The Toasted Yolk celebrates breakfast and lunch with a mission to provide a unique dining experience through chef-inspired menus that feature fresh, mouth-watering takes on classic American dishes in a lively atmosphere. The brand purchases quality, local ingredients at every opportunity to deliver the farm-to-table freshness customers deserve. The result is a simple, streamlined menu executed to perfection and paired with coffee creations and creative cocktails. 

In addition to the high-quality consumer offering, Thomas notes the Toasted Yolk’s business model allows for a higher quality of life for the staff and franchise owners, as well as strong unit-level economics. “You don’t have to be there late or follow usual restaurant hours — you are out by 4:30 or 5. It is a huge benefit to be able to spend time with family and do things you typically can’t do in the restaurant segment,” he said. “In addition, I love the brunch business model: it offers an affordable buildout, low overhead costs and attractive margins.”

How Toasted Yolk Café Supported Franchisees During the Pandemic With a Robust Lunch Menu and Industry Expertise

Thomas says when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the Toasted Yolk team helped him adapt and appeal to consumers in any way necessary. For example, the brand’s wide selection of lunch options are more delivery-friendly than breakfast items, which allowed franchisees to tap into higher lunch sales during the pandemic. 

“Lunch means something at Toasted Yolk — in fact, we are known for our burgers. Our lunch and brunch menu account for 60% of all systemwide sales,” said Milton. “The biggest problem for other operators in the breakfast category is the fact that their weekday business typically stops at 11 a.m. Here, the lunch menu is not an afterthought. Our sales remain strong until we close at 3 p.m., which allows our franchisees to pull in more business throughout the entire day.” 

Whether in pandemic times or not, the Toasted Yolk’s expert leadership team offers franchisees site selection support, pre-opening training, operational support, marketing assistance and more to maximize franchisees’ revenue potential.

“The Toasted Yolk corporate team guided us through this complicated year and helped us navigate the changes, precautionary measures and proactive steps we needed to do,” he said. “We have done extremely well as a business, and particularly a restaurant, considering the circumstances.”

That success bolstered Thomas to open his second Toasted Yolk location in July and sign on to open a third location in Richmond, Texas in 2022. He’s not alone — 90% of the existing Toasted Yolk franchisees have either recently opened or are in the process of opening their second or third unit despite the challenges of the pandemic. 

“Although there were several obstacles along the way, this has been my most successful year with Toasted Yolk,” said Thomas. “As Toasted Yolk plans to expand across the country, I’m proud to have been the first franchise owner and I look forward to growing alongside the brand.”

There are currently 15 Toasted Yolk locations in operation, five in construction and four in site selection. The brand plans to open another six restaurants this year, with specific target markets identified in Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. 

Startup costs range from $788,000 to $1,155,500. Learn more about franchise opportunities here: https://thetoastedyolk.com/franchise-opportunity/