The authentic, rapidly expanding Greek bakery and café’s rebranded locations will open in early 2020, doubling their locations in New York City
Greek from Greece (GFG) Bakery-Café and Fournos Theofilos, two culinary destinations raising the bar of Greek cuisine in America, today announced their merger under the GFG Bakery-Café brand. This month, the authentic, family-owned GFG Bakery-Café plans to rebrand Fournos Theofilos’ existing two locations in Manhattan to GFG Bakery-Cafés, bringing its total number of Manhattan locations from two to four.
GFG Bakery-Café serves up authentic, freshly-baked sweet and savory pastries, light and traditional Greek fare and café beverages sourced directly from Greece. Fournos Theofilos specializes in serving freshly prepared Greek delicacies. The acquisition of Fournos Theofilos will enable GFG Bakery-Café to shine a light on Greece’s unique gastronomy and culture.
“This is an important move for our company,” said Georgios Drosos, founder and CEO of GFG Bakery-Café. “Combining our know-how with Fournos Theofilos’ investment and operational team enables us to expand more rapidly in the Manhattan area, and establishes our place as the leading concept in fast casual Greek bakeries and cafés. With guidance and assistance from the GMM Real Value Investment Fund, Fournos Theofilos has gained significant awareness and success since their first store opened in Midtown Manhattan back in October 2018. We are confident that rebranding their locations to GFG Bakery-Cafés will enable us to create a unique Greek culinary experience for our customers and help lead the Pan-American expansion of the concept.”
Georgios Drosos, an entrepreneur and award-winning franchisee himself, opened the first GFG Bakery-Café in 2017 to long lines and delighted customers. Five other locations soon followed throughout Manhattan and New Jersey, and a new location in Tampa, Florida, opened in December 2019.
“Rebranding Fournos Theofilos is the right move at the right time for both concepts,” said Scott Goodrich, COO and partner at King Street Consultants. “I really love the GFG brand, and it’s built for rapid growth. George Drosos is an experienced operator and business owner with extensive multi-unit franchise experience, and as a franchisor he knows that unit-level profitability is paramount. He built the brand with imperative efficiencies – simple food production, a highly efficient labor model, flexible footprint, great food costs, and value-engineered construction costs. The food is also delicious and differentiated. Nearly all the offerings come directly from Greece, and the coffee is incredible!”
GFG Bakery-Café is currently seeking experienced multi-unit foodservice operators and scouting potential markets across the country. Those interested in joining GFG Bakery-Café as franchisees will get support from start to finish, from site selection expertise and sample floor plans to custom training systems and localized brand building.
“GFG Bakery-Café has a fast casual model that is ahead of the pack in today’s disruptive and challenging business environment,” added Goodrich. “It’s flexible, innovative, and tech driven. The team consists of C-level experts in operations, training, information technology and supply chain management, with a continuing commitment to building a world class team.”
To learn more about GFG Bakery-Café franchising opportunities, please visit http://go.fransmart.com/GFGbakery-Cafe.
Lead by a core team from Greece that can best be described as “traditional pioneers” dedicated to raising the bar of Greek food ordering and eating in America, GFG Bakery-Café (or GFG) provides the visitor a friendly, comfortable environment, and a high-quality homemade taste experience with every bite. GFG is the only bakery in which all products are made in Greece. Wheat, olives, corn, tomatoes growing under the Greek sun and the beneficial sea breeze. And, GFG perfectly aligns with the universal shift towards organic, natural ingredients, and specific move towards the Mediterranean Diet, as a premier paradigm of healthy, natural eating.
As the leading franchise development firm in the country, Fransmart turns emerging restaurant concepts into successful national and global brands. Founded by Dan Rowe, the man who identified and grew brands such as Five Guys Burgers & Fries and QDOBA Mexican Grill from single unit businesses to the powerhouse chains they are today, Fransmart’s formula for success is finding emerging brands ripe for expansion and building successful multi-unit franchise businesses across the U.S. and globally. Fransmart’s current and past franchise development portfolio brands have opened more than 5,000 restaurants worldwide, and facilitated franchise investments that have cumulatively generated 1-billion in revenues to date. For more information, visit www.fransmart.com, Facebook at facebook.com/fransmart, Twitter at twitter.com/FransmartSocial, LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/fransmart and Instagram at instagram.com/fransmartsocial.
