Famous Toastery's Corporate Team Celebrates New Hires As Franchisees Make Famous Toastery Famous in Their Communities

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 its executive team through both internal promotions and external hires. These qualified leaders will work together to further prioritize a business model and support infrastructure that encourages franchisees to “ Be Famous .”

Michael Mabry , who joined Famous Toastery’s executive team as President in November 2021, brings a personal and professional mantra of: “People. Food. Life.” Mabry has spent 30 years in the food and beverage industry, working in roles from line cook to Chief Operating Officer to President. Over the past two decades, Mabry has gathered in-depth experience in the franchising world specifically, working as President and Chief Operating Officer of MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, Executive Chef and Director of Franchise Operations at Macaroni Grill and Chief Development Officer of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

In his new role with Famous Toastery, Mabry says he is eager to bolster an already-strong brand and help usher in a new era of growth for the concept. “My primary goal is to make sure I don’t mess up a good thing — we are a  strong brand with a great reputation , and I don't want to hinder that,” Mabry said. “We are focused on three major strategies for the year: build sales at the unit level through marketing efforts and upgraded operational support, put the right people in place on the leadership team, and build possibilities at the restaurant level for franchisees. We are doing all of that through the lens of “Be Famous” — that is our calling card. We want to recognize the famous people that are already on our team, and give them the titles and responsibilities that they’ve earned over the years.”

Meet The Newest Members Of The Famous Toastery Franchise Team

In addition to Mabry, the Famous Toastery team is celebrating several other promotions, including  Lorna Martinez , who will be taking over as the brand’s Director of Marketing. Prior to Famous Toastery, Martinez worked in the sports marketing industry, including a role as the Trade Marketing Manager for international sporting goods company Reebok.

• Steve Henning , who started with the Famous Toastery brand in 2015 as a General Manager, was also recently promoted to Area Director. Prior to his role with Famous Toastery, Henning gathered in-depth experience in the restaurant industry as a General Manager with legacy full-service chain T.G.I. Fridays.
• Steven Augustine , who has been promoted to the role of Training General Manager, started with Famous Toastery in 2020 as a General Manager. In the past, Augustine held the role of CEO at consulting firm The Augustine Group, served as a Culinary Manager at The Hickory Tavern and as a General Manager at Chili’s.
• Jude Colangelo is a new hire joining the Famous Toastery team as the brand’s CFO. Previously, Colangelo served as the President and Founder of Eat the Bear, a pioneering Charlotte-based, sports nutrition and lifestyle company. Colangelo also served as a Managing Director with Wells Fargo and as an Executive Director with UBS.

“This is a people business, and we need to have the highest level of people in place to execute our goal,” said CEO and Founder  Robert Maynard . “We’ve gone all-in on people and process so we can get franchisees the support, help and direction they need as the brand is starting to grow rapidly. We know what we’ve done right and what we’ve done wrong in the past and putting the right team in place will help us expand. We are clearly on track to double in size, but it takes a lot of work and time to open those stores. Having the right people in place to support franchisees every step of the way is so important for our business moving forward.”

From on-boarding to grand opening, Maynard says Famous Toastery provides franchisees with the support and training needed to establish a successful business in their local community. In addition to support, the Famous Toastery consumer offering provides the blueprint that allows franchisees to run a beloved neighborhood establishment, not just another local business. This includes both the fresh, made-to-order menu and the longstanding motto of “ every server is your server ,” which encourages next-level customer service at all locations.

What's Next?

Looking ahead, Maynard says the brand is on track to close 10–12 new franchise deals in 2022. Five to seven of those deals will be in North Carolina, and the rest in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida. “I want to continue to drive the winning culture of this brand that Robert and I feel so strongly about,” said Mabry. “And quite frankly, we want the brand to grow to be ‘famous,’ hence the name Famous Toastery. At the end of the day, our franchisees make Famous Toastery famous, not vice versa. Without our franchisees, we don’t have a brand. This is a locally owned and operated business. The idea that the franchisees are already famous in their markets — famous with their guests, famous with their team members — that puts the famous in Famous Toastery. That is why we will continue to build out our executive team and ensure franchisees have all the support they need to serve their communities.”

ABOUT FAMOUS TOASTERY

Charlotte, N.C. based Famous Toastery began in 2005 in a small house-turned-restaurant where best friends Brian Burchill and Robert Maynard opened their first breakfast spot. Never compromising fresh ingredients or friendly service, Famous Toastery evolved into a franchise system in 2013 and now has over 25 locations. 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. 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