Why Famous Toastery is Set for Massive Growth in 2023

CHARLOTTE - Famous Toastery, the 25-plus unit better breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise, is wrapping up 2022 as one of the most exciting and groundbreaking years in the company’s 15-year history. With new leadership hires, a menu revamp, a cost-efficient store remodel, local vendor partnerships and more, Famous Toastery has a lot to celebrate and is heading into 2023 with a stronger support infrastructure and growth strategy than ever before. 

“This has really been a ‘rebuilding year’ for the brand — our goal was to fully enhance the great infrastructure we already had in place through new leadership hires, consumer initiatives and franchisee-focused programs,” said Mike Sebazco, who joined the Famous Toastery family himself this year as President. “Now, we are excited to really ramp up our franchise development sales in 2023 as we continue to find more ways to support our existing franchisees and welcome new franchisees into the system.”

With 30 years of experience in the franchising and restaurant industry, Sebazco will help guide the brand into its next phase of franchise expansion as it grows strategically throughout the Carolinas and the Southeast with the aim of doubling its footprint over the next two years. He is joined by several other recent additions to the Famous Toastery team — Lorna Martinez as Director of Marketing; Ann Eley as Director of Training; Eric Gustafsson as VP of Franchise Development; Joe Gillie as VP of Operations; and Jennifer Brulé as Chief Culinary Officer.

“As someone with a good amount of experience in the food service space, I know a strong, passion-driven franchise concept and team when I see one,” said Sebazco. “Famous Toastery stands out with not only an amazing menu but also a community focus that prioritizes the best of the best in customer service. This all makes for a very exciting franchise opportunity — and it is only getting better. I saw how much the team has been investing in franchisee support, operations and marketing over the past few years, and I knew it would be an honor to come aboard and help usher in a new era of growth for Famous Toastery.”

This new era of growth will primarily be fueled by the brand’s mantra of “Be Famous” — a business model rolled out this year that encourages franchisees to quickly become locally Famous as pillars of their communities and providing not only “Famously Fresh” food made daily but a hub for friends, families and neighbors to come together. This includes an all-out brand refresh featuring a new menu and store remodel, updated cost efficiencies and increased franchisee support.

For example, Famous Toastery recently launched a revamped menu and a new “Famously Fresh” tagline. This includes several new menu items created from feedback taken by customers, such as a protein power bowl, shrimp and grits and Nutella toast.

“The ‘Famously Fresh’ messaging needs to be something our guests can taste, see and feel,” said Martinez. “This option is not only local, but the ingredients are simple and delicious, with no additives or GMOs. We know we are providing a quality product, which is our first priority as a brand. That is what is truly important. Doing that while also supporting a small business in our community is a real win-win.”

The new “Famously Fresh” menu also highlights another significant initiative the Famous Toastery team tackled this year — the first-of-a-kind partnership with North Carolina-based Abby’s Better Nut Butter. Famous Toastery will leverage this new vendor partnership to introduce a soon-to-be menu staple at its restaurants, Abby’s Better Nut Butter toast, which includes the protein-infused nut butter, bacon crumbles and a drizzle of 100% grade A maple syrup. 

“This partnership is very special to us,” said Martinez. “Abby is located in our own backyard, and we believe in the product tremendously. It doesn’t have all those additives and junk in it, and the core ingredients are amazing. We are thrilled to create a marriage between our two brands.” 

As part of the all-out refresh, the Famous Toastery team also set out to revamp and reopen their flagship Davidson, North Carolina location this year. They added new paint colors, a more modern and “farm-chic” look and a brighter, more vibrant layout to promote daytime traffic. This experience also allowed them to test out new cost efficiencies and improvements to the business model, as well as outline a new-and-improved look for all stores in the system. 

“The Davidson remodel really taught us about how we can save costs and optimize what we have done in the past,” said Gustafsson. “For example: are there ways to set up a kitchen operationally that makes it cheaper to build out? Do we have national contracts with vendors that can provide us with equipment to keep costs down? It allowed us to answer a lot of those questions.”

Overall, every milestone the brand achieved this year was centered around making Famous Toastery franchisees better equipped than ever to become Famous in the communities they serve. 

“Whether it be our growing leadership team or our delicious menu, everything falls into the ‘Be Famous’ strategy; it is the root of what we are,” said Sebazco. “It allows the guests, the servers, and the kitchen to feel Famous while also allowing the franchisees to be Famous because they know they have the right tools in place to take care of their guests and provide an amazing breakfast, brunch and lunch experience. We are excited to take that mission to new heights in 2023.”

Now, with the brand and team stronger than ever, Famous Toastery aims to have 50 locations open by the end of 2024. Five to seven deals will be in North Carolina, and the rest in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida.

The cost to open a Famous Toastery franchise ranges from $575,500 to $999,500, including a franchise fee starting at $45,000. To learn about franchising opportunities, please visit www.bestbreakfastfranchise.com. 

ABOUT FAMOUS TOASTERY

Charlotte, N.C. based Famous Toastery is a breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise that encourages its guests, team and franchise owners to “Be Famous” in their local community by offering “Famously Fresh” meals and a much-needed hub for friends, families and neighbors to get together in a comfortable atmosphere where “every server is your server”. The brand began in 2005 before evolving into a franchise system in 2013 and growing to over 25 locations today. In 2020 and 2019, Famous Toastery placed on Restaurant Business' The Future 50, featuring the fastest-growing small chains. Famous Toastery was ranked No. 9 in the Full-Service Restaurants category of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Food Franchises of 2019 and on Entrepreneur Magazine's Franchise 500 Rankings in 2019 and 2022. In 2018, Famous Toastery received recognition by CNBC as a top franchise to buy, FSR Magazine as one of the Top 14 restaurant chains ready for lift-off, Inc. 5000’s list of the fastest growing companies and Franchise Times' Top 200+ franchise opportunities. For more information about Famous Toastery, visit www.famoustoastery.com. To learn about franchising opportunities, please visit www.bestbreakfastfranchise.com.