Famous Toastery opens first store west of Mississippi
Call it serendipity. Call it fate.
Call it being in the right place at the right time.
Whatever it was, you can now call it Famous Toastery, the newest breakfast spot in Fort Collins.
Franchisee David Glista hosted a soft opening Thursday for the first Famous Toastery west of the Mississippi River. The store officially opens at 6:30 a.m. Friday at Harmony Commons, 3541 E. Harmony Road.
Glista's story is almost too good to be true.
The New Hampshire resident and his wife had fallen in love with Fort Collins' beer and bike culture while visiting their daughter, a student at Colorado State University, and decided to move here even though they had no jobs waiting for them.
When moving, they took the southern route from New Hampshire to visit their son in Washington, D.C., and meet friends farther south.
While waiting at dinner in North Carolina, they struck up a conversation with another couple, who were Famous Toastery franchisees.
"They were so excited about it," said Glista on a brief break from the chaos of Thursday's soft opening.
The Glistas continued to talk about the possibilities en route to Colorado, and pulled over in Little Rock, Arkansas, to call Famous Toastery Founder Robert Maynard.
They talked for more than an hour, Glista said.
The rest is history.
Glista signed a franchise agreement in December, signed his lease at Harmony Commons a month later and spent 10 weeks learning the ropes at other restaurants in the chain.
Maynard said in an interview he hesitated expanding the East Coast chain as far as Colorado.
"Most of our stores are within a five-hour drive," he said. "You can't just get in your car and drive to Colorado. It's scary."
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September 11, 2024 // Franchising.com // CHARLOTTE, NC – Famous Toastery is proud to announce a strong start to the second half of 2024 marked by newly-signed franchise agreements, an initial rollout of a fresh new aesthetic, and strategic partnerships. Famous Toastery signaled a bold new step to expanding its regional footprint with a 5-unit deal in Raleigh, NC, signed by Anuj, Hina and Nisang Patel. Furthering the brand’s presence in the area, Famous Toastery also added its first franchise in Fuquay-Varina, NC with a signed agreement by Larry Terhune. “We are thrilled to bring the Famously Fresh flavors of Famous Toastery to new communities with these deals,” said Mike Sebazco, President of Famous Toastery. Coming in the second half of the year, Famous Toastery guests can expect a fresh look to their go-to brunch spot. The brand will launch an evolution of their current look with a new design that includes a new logo and color scheme, updated uniforms and new menus – which feature a new look and feel to their core food and cocktail offerings, with the addition of margarita flights as an example. “Our guests are our top priority, and providing them with a great experience is our number one goal,” added Sebazco. “We heard the guest feedback and used it to guide our brand refresh, from the bright uniforms to the delicious new cocktail and food menus, as well as our new logo. While we are unveiling our new primary logo, our team is just as excited to present our new secondary logo that pays homage to our original branding as we continue to evolve.” The first stage of the new look was recently launched on the Famous Toastery website providing guests with a digitally enhanced experience that features unique location pages for each restaurant and a much friendlier consumer experience. Famous Toastery fans can expect to see bright new colors implemented on the website in the coming weeks, as the new branding is simultaneously unveiled at restaurants. In tandem with the new website, Famous Toastery will continue to showcase its digital evolution by launching its first loyalty program – a tool they’ll use to show guest appreciation and provide valuable insights to franchisees and its corporate team in order to provide an exceptional guest experience. Through the use of data from the loyalty program, the Famous Toastery team can continue to evolve to exceed the needs and expectations of their guests.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Famous Toastery , the renowned better breakfast franchise known for its Famously Fresh and simple-scratch menu, is proud to announce a strong start to the second half of 2024 marked by newly-signed franchise agreements, an initial rollout of a fresh new aesthetic, and growing strategic partnerships. Forward Momentum for Franchise Growth Famous Toastery signaled a bold new step to expanding its regional footprint with a 5-unit deal in Raleigh, NC, signed by Anuj, Hina and Nisang Patel. This marks a pivotal milestone as Famous Toastery emerges as a brand optimal for multi-unit agreements due to its increasing demand and popularity in a myriad of communities. Furthering the brand's presence in the area, Famous Toastery also added its first franchise in Fuquay-Varina, NC with a signed agreement by Larry Terhune. Beyond this expansion in its home state, Famous Toastery is expecting strategic, nationwide growth to come to fruition by the end of 2024. "We are thrilled to bring the Famously Fresh flavors of Famous Toastery to new communities with these deals," said Mike Sebazco, President of Famous Toastery. "Expanding our Raleigh footprint and adding the Fuquay-Varina community to our Famous Toastery family while broadening our franchise offerings with multi-unit owners signals our positive momentum forward, and we are proud to have them represent our brand."
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A Charlotte-based chain will have its name on the Queen City’s latest bowl game. ESPN Events announced Tuesday morning that Famous Toastery will be the title sponsor of the upcoming bowl game in Charlotte. The Famous Toastery Bowl is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 18, at Jerry Richardson Stadium.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WAVY) — Call it a match made in heaven, call it a coincidence, or call it whatever you want. Old Dominion is in the Famous Toastery Bowl, and the fact that it is the Famous Toastery Bowl is the reason why it’s ironic.
October 20, 2023 // Franchising.com // CHARLOTTE, NC – Won Life Brands – parent company of Famous Toastery has been announced as a finalist for The Charlotte Business Journal’s 2023 Best in Human Resources Award. “At Won Life Brands, our commitment to excellence in human resources is unwavering,” said Robert Maynard, Founder and CEO of Won Life Brands. “This recognition serves as a testament to the dedication of our incredible team and we will continue to strive for excellence and innovation in HR, making people's lives better one career at a time."
October 30, 2023 // Franchising.com // CHARLOTTE, NC - Won Life Brands, parent company of Famous Toastery, has been announced as a finalist for the Best Places to Work award by The Charlotte Business Journal. The award highlights local employers – big and small – that have perks, practices and policies to attract and keep top talent.
This is the story of how a 24-unit regional breakfast-and-lunch chain with a marketing staff of two pulled off the title sponsorship of a nationally televised college bowl game … on six weeks’ notice. Stadium renovations forced the move of the 2023 Bahamas Bowl to Charlotte, N.C.—the home turf of Famous Toastery. The chain had recently inked a partnership with NASCAR driver (and 2021 Daytona 500 champ) Michael McDowell, who connected ESPN events with Famous Toastery, according to VP of Marketing Lorna Martinez. And, thus, the Famous Toastery Bowl, which took place on Dec. 18 between Western Kentucky University and Old Dominion University at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was born, complete with toast mascot racing at half time, the chain’s first TV ad, and WKU’s victory celebration that featured players with fistfuls of toast, making “toast angels” on the field and throwing slices of bread into the sky. “We are a small bunch when it comes to Famous Toastery,” Martinez said. “You would think that a brand like this has, you know, at least some sort of division of PR or marketing. We’re a marketing team of two … We’re a small group but we all knew we would pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and make this happen. So, I think that’s the beauty of it. It felt like, all right, this is our underdog brand that could, the little engine that could … And, so, there was never a doubt in our minds that, you know, six weeks, let’s just get it done.” Getting it done included a long punch list, one most sponsors take a year to complete. Among the tasks: Creating a media plan to announce the bowl game, preparing for the coin toss and half-time show, building a 30-second TV spot from scratch, creating a logo, writing radio ads, developing a social media strategy and, perhaps most importantly, figuring out how to capitalize on the Famous Toastery Bowl long after the stadium had emptied.
