The better-breakfast brand opened its first locations in Florida and Virginia, with plans to open new restaurants in New York, Colorado, Georgia and Pennsylvania
Famous Toastery has seen a momentous 2016 as the better-breakfast franchise looks to triple its location presence within the next year. The brand began the year landing on CNBC’s list of the top six food franchises in America. They’ve consistently won best breakfast and brunch awards in their hometown market, Charlotte, North Carolina, since the brand’s inception more than a decade ago. And to date, they boast 17 locations throughout the Southeast.
Last spring, Famous Toastery opened their very first Florida location in Jacksonville Beach, and in the fall, a franchisee opened in Loudon, Virginia. New restaurants are also in the pipeline for Philadelphia, New York, Colorado and Georgia – all new states for the brand. Additional new development will be scattered throughout South Carolina and North Carolina – most recently, a multi-unit franchisee signed on for 10 restaurants in Asheville, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham.
“More and more people are starting to hear about us. People are learning about our genuine passion for better-breakfast and lunch, served up in a welcoming and friendly culture. When they find out what Famous Toastery has to offer, people are either going out of their way to dine with us, or they’re wondering what it’ll take to bring the brand straight to them,” said Robert Maynard, the founder and CEO of Famous Toastery. “That tells us that there’s a real need for Famous Toastery. Better-breakfast is still an untapped market, and we have so much opportunity to broaden our already-tremendous following of loyal and regular customers by adding new locations across the country.”
Targeting New York in particular doesn’t just make good business sense for Famous Toastery; however, Maynard and the brand’s other founder, Brian Burchill, grew up just down the street from each other in a Long Island neighborhood. They then ended up living on the same block in New York City, where Maynard gave up a musical career to work on Wall Street while Burchill pursued an acting career. With Maynard’s father a lieutenant in the New York City Fire Department during 9-11, the family’s intense connection with the city grew, and it was a major driving factor in deciding to bring the area its first taste of Famous Toastery. Maynard’s father, now a commercial real estate broker, was instrumental in procuring the first Long Island location, now in its early building stages. Maynard is targeting the rest of the tri-state area for additional growth – including upstate New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
As Famous Toastery continues to build out the East Coast, the brand is also looking to make a move Westward. In particular, they’re looking to develop in Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia. In 2017, Famous Toastery has its sights set on signing 15 deals for a total of 75 locations.
“There’s a shift occurring lately in terms of what people look for when they’re dining out. People are shunning the idea of the greasy-spoon and artificial ingredients. Instead, they’re craving foods that are fresh and natural. They want meals that are made from scratch every single morning. We’re bringing that concept to the booming breakfast and brunch crowds, and we believe that our growth potential is currently unmatched,” Maynard said. “From North Carolina to New York, people throughout the country all value those things – they want quality food without the pretention often seen in the brunch segment these days. And we’re excited to finally bring that option to them.”
Famous Toastery’s story began in 2005 in Huntersville, N.C. in a small house-turned-restaurant where best friends Brian Burchill and Robert Maynard opened their first breakfast spot. News of their fresh-made breakfasts and fun atmosphere spread. The concept quickly grew to three locations, serving new and loyal clients dishes such as made-from-scratch portabella mushroom benedict and avocado omelets. Never compromising fresh ingredients or friendly service, the demand for Toast kept growing. To satisfy its family of patrons’ pleas for more locations, Toast evolved into a franchise system in 2013. Dining customers always can expect impeccable service because at Toast, “every server is your server.” Breaking through the boring casual breakfast segment, Toast will continue spreading its success to new communities across the United States. For more information about Toast or to learn about franchising opportunities, please visit http://toastcafeonline.com.
