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Famous toastery experiences brand resurgence with streamlined operations and new executive leadership in place

CHARLOTTE, NC (April 18, 2023) – Famous Toastery, a 25-unit better brunch franchise brand known for its “Famously Fresh” menu, is experiencing a brand resurgence after streamlining operations to meet post-pandemic demand for big brunches and adding new executive leadership to fuel the brand’s franchise growth mission. 


Over the last few years, Famous Toastery developed and instituted new operational efficiencies in an effort to drive system-wide sales and help grow the franchise system, including standardizing operating procedures across all locations, reengineering the restaurant’s menu and prices to improve unit level economics, and launching a “Famously Fresh” campaign at the restaurant level and across marketing channels to leverage its fresh, made-from-scratch menu. Famous Toastery also grew its executive leadership team by adding franchise and restaurant industry veterans Mike Sebazco as President and Eric Gustafsson as Vice President of Franchise Development to lead business growth strategy and operations and drive franchise expansion.


These enhancements made to Famous Toastery are now paying dividends. In 2022, the brand saw its top 50 percent of franchise locations report an Average Unit Volume (AUV) of $1,770,835.


“The time this organization spent looking granularly at all operational aspects of this business and the decisions made to improve upon the franchise model has given the brand a competitive edge as a profitable brunch business with increased value for our franchisees, employees and guests,” says Mike Sebazco, President of Famous Toastery. “Now, the results are attracting new and existing franchisees to the system who see the opportunity to capture the demand for society’s ongoing love of the brunch daypart.”


In fact, due to the brand’s calculated investments, corporate vision and additional resources, entrepreneurs Divyan Patel, Jeffrey Folckemer, and Drew Van Zante were attracted to the brand and signed a five-unit franchise agreement to open new Famous Toastery locations in Jacksonville, FL. Added evidence to the brand’s strategic changes and growing unit volume sales is Famous Toastery’s former Vice President of Operations, Joe Gillie, who is leaving his corporate role to run and operate the location in Blowing Rock, NC as a franchise owner.


“While the impressive AUVs are helping drive the brand resurgence, one of the biggest draws to investing in a Famous Toastery is its single shift business concept, where owners and staff members are able to achieve work life balance with an eight-hour shift instead of working 14 hours a day,” says Eric Gustafsson, Vice President of Franchise Development at Famous Toastery. “In today’s competitive market, our franchisees can enjoy the concept’s healthy profit margins and strong unit economics in a compact space thanks to low food costs traditionally associated with breakfast, as well as lower labor and overhead costs due to morning to afternoon working hours.”


Founded in 2005 in Huntersville, NC, best friends Brian Burchill and Robert Maynard opened a breakfast restaurant in a small house where fresh ingredients and comfortable atmosphere were center stage. In 2013, the restaurant brand evolved into a franchise still focused on fresh, high-quality ingredients and with a special focus on attentive service. Today, Famous Toastery has more than 25 locations and aims to bring brunch, enjoyable hospitality, and community under one roof to other markets in the country with the help new and existing franchise owners. With an emphasis on perfecting classic breakfast and lunch items and injecting fun in beverages, Famous Toastery not only owns brunch, it makes it famous.


New franchisees go through an initial eight-week training program at Famous Toastery headquarters, with four weeks of training specifically dedicated to restaurant operations, from a culinary, bartending and service standpoint. Franchisees also go through a rigorous culinary training curriculum developed by Famous Toastery’s experienced culinary team to help them become confident in their franchise to serve up a fresh, made-from-scratch menu daily. Additional resources include operations support, new store opening training of staff members, local marketing initiatives, P&L review and coaching on best practices and benchmarking and ongoing trainings focused on franchise business success.


The cost to open a Famous Toastery, costs range from$588,000 – $1,011,500. 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

April 25, 2024
When Jason and Michele Serkin moved to South Carolina for Michele’s career as a literacy facilitator, the couple was disappointed to discover the lack of quality breakfast options in the area. So, they decided to be a part of the solution, opening the first ever Famous Toastery franchise. Within six months, the franchisees had made $900,000. Here’s how they did it. Name: Jason and Michele Serkin Franchise owned : Famous Toastery (formerly Toast Café) in Tega Cay, S.C. How long have you owned a franchise? Seventeen months. Why franchising? We wanted the support and guidance of a proven business. What were you doing before you became a franchise owner? I was a stay at home dad and Michele was a literacy facilitator at an elementary school. Why did you choose this particular franchise? Famous Toastery has a great product and we wanted to bring it to our community. How much would you estimate you spent before you were officially open for business? Approximately $500,000. Where did you get most of your advice/do most of your research? We visited many restaurants and we asked people in the area what was their favorite breakfast and lunch place. We then asked ourselves which one stands out to us and is really successful. To us, there was not even a close second to Famous Toastery (then Toast Café). What were the most unexpected challenges of opening your franchise? Hiring employees that are willing and capable of working hard as well as creating an energy to make our service, atmosphere and food stand out. What advice do you have for individuals who want to own their own franchise? Make sure you have a plan and don’t necessarily take the cheapest or easiest way of doing things. Do your research and make sure you’re making the right decision for yourself. You bought a franchise for a reason, so let them guide you and teach you how to be successful.  What’s next for you and your business? To make sure we continue to give our customers a great experience on every visit to Famous Toastery. We never want to just be ‘good.’ We strive to be ‘GREAT!’ We plan on opening more locations as well, to bring Famous Toastery to more families in surrounding communities who will enjoy a comfortable and enjoyable breakfast and lunch restaurant with outstanding food and service.
April 25, 2024
Rocky road ice cream sandwiches, street-style tacos and falafel all have one thing in common: They are served by a group of restaurants Technomic says are franchisees to watch to 2016. This year, franchising has drawn considerable attention as giants like McDonald’s and Wendy’s double down on refranchising their restaurants. Broadly, the business model enables companies to generate more consistent revenue streams and expand at a rapid clip without raising as much money. Meanwhile, franchisees get to tap in to already-built brand equity and resources. “For those with experience or lack of it in foodservice, getting on board with a franchise allows you to have a system in place to market and operate a business, because most people don’t have a clue,” Technomic President Darren Tristano said in a phone interview. Technomic’s list includes several regional chains that are in the early stage of development — many of which cater to a niche food category. “Overall, they tend to be newer, more contemporary restaurants,” Tristano said. “I think better is the singular theme. These restaurants are striving to a do a better job — with food, service and the experience.” So which restaurants made the cut? CREAM With an eye toward the kid at heart, CREAM sells premium ice cream sandwiches with ice cream flavors like caramel cinnamon chill, and cookie varieties such as snickerdoodle and turtle. Short for “Cookies Rule Everything Around Me,” CREAM is currently awarding area development agreements in the U.S. to qualified multi-unit operators. Right now, the chain has 22 locations in Nevada and California with plans for rapid development. Its goal is to have 120 by the end of 2017. Famous Toastery Founded before toast took an artisanal turn in the last few years, Famous Toastery markets itself as a breakfast and lunch spot with fresh food. Currently only in the Southeast, the chain is looking for franchise partners in New York, Philadelphia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia. Little Greek Restaurant This Greek fast player just opened its 25th location, most of which are franchise operated. Next year, the restaurant chain plans to open seven more locations serving Mediterranean fare like falafel and gyros. R Taco The Mexican street-style taco joint has one food truck and 10 locations with another set to open in mid-January. Known more for its wings than pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings made a majority investment in the chain last August while it was still known as “Rusty Taco.” To become a franchisee, R Taco requires liquid capital of $750,000 and a net worth of $1.5 million. Initial start-up costs can reach $622,000. Slim Chickens With more than 30 locations dotting the country, Slim Chickens serves fast casual fare including chicken tenders and Buffalo wings. To get a franchise up and running, franchisees can expect to shell out $400,000 to $927,000. Once they sign an agreement, franchisees have one year to open for business. Blaze Pizza The fast-casual pizza segment is one of the most closely watched in all of the industry. Technomic Associate Editor Lauren Hallow described it as a “lucrative opportunity” for franchisees.  Blaze has 103 locations and already has franchise agreements in place for large parts of the country — with one exception. It is looking for a multi-unit operator to bring the chain to Seattle.
April 22, 2024
Famous Toastery, a 25-unit better brunch franchise brand known for its “Famously Fresh” menu, announced it has signed a franchise development agreement with local entrepreneurs, Divyan Patel, Jeffrey Folckemer, and Drew Van Zante. Details of the agreement include opening five Famous Toastery units in Northeast Florida over the next four years. The first Famous Toastery restaurant will open by the end of 2023. The latest Famous Toastery investors are active members in the Northeast Florida business community with a number of different enterprises. Divyan Patel is a serial entrepreneur who owns and operates a Planet Smoothie in St. Johns and two Coldstone Creamery units near Murabella and St. Johns. Jeffrey Folckemer has been a residential and commercial contractor for the past 10 years, as well as a realter with development and local community knowledge. Drew Van Zante is co-owner of Kingdom Home Builders, as well as an owner and operator of McDonald’s franchises in the St. Augustine area.
A white plate topped with a pizza and bacon on a table.
April 22, 2024
Famous Toastery Chief Executive Officer Robert Maynard spoke to FSR Magazine about how the brand pivoted during the COVID-19 crisis to forge their own path by switching to QR codes, contactless payment, online ordering and limited menu items. Maynard also shared how he was able to turn his brand around…
A brick building with a sign that says famous toastles
April 22, 2024
As 2022 gets into swing, Famous Toastery, the 25-plus unit better breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise, is well on its way to reaching its goal of 50 units by 2024. The brand’s CEO and founder Robert Maynard, says the brand is on track to close 10–12 new franchise deals in 2022. Five…
April 22, 2024
Famous Toastery, the 25-plus unit better breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise, is on the cusp of major franchise growth, embarking on an ambitious plan to reach 50 units — doubling its current footprint — by 2024. As part of this strategy, Famous Toastery has announced the addition of several new members to…
April 22, 2024
In 2005, childhood friends Robert Maynard and Brian Burchill were tired of the usual greasy-spoon breakfast restaurants, where most of the food was frozen or processed and the customer service was subpar. So, the duo devised a solution — a gourmet breakfast and brunch brand that would serve “famously fresh” food made daily and…
A man is standing in front of a sign that says famous toastery.
April 22, 2024
Famous Toastery, the 25-plus-unit North Carolina based franchise, has made a name for itself by offering the freshest breakfast, brunch and lunch offerings in its segment. The brand’s franchisees, growing throughout neighborhoods in North Carolina since opening in 2005 and franchising in 2013, have become locally famous as pillars in…
A man and a woman are standing in front of a famous toastery sign.
April 22, 2024
Former NFL player and coach Justin Griffith continues to leverage his experiences on the field for calculated, strategic, playbook success with the breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise Famous Toastery, as he plans to open his second location in Harrisburg, North Carolina. Griffith, who opened his first location in March 2018 in Uptown Charlotte,…
April 22, 2024
Looking for opportunities to continue building on years of momentum, despite the challenges of the pandemic, Famous Toastery, the 26-unit better breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise, launched its first ghost kitchen in 2020. That innovative new store model was opened in Warrenton, Virginia, by guest-turned-franchisee Angela Goodman, who also operates one brick-and-mortar…
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