“Be Famous”: Famous Toastery’s New President Michael Mabry’s Message to Franchisees

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 their communities, providing not only uncompromisingly fresh and decadent meals, but a hub for friends, families and neighbors to get together.

Now, the brand is looking to leverage that strong positioning in its home state to expand into neighboring markets across the Carolinas. Michael Mabry, who joined Famous Toastery’s executive team as president in November 2021, will play an instrumental role in the franchise’s plans to reach 50 units — doubling its current footprint — by 2024, with the bulk of that development planned for the Carolinas.

 

High Numbers Aren’t Everything to Michael Mabry

“Rather than looking at goals from a numeric standpoint, I like to attract and retain the right team members and the right franchisees,” said Mabry. “I’m a firm believer that we’ve got a handful of potential franchisees who eat in our dining rooms everyday — they just don’t know it yet. They love the brand and they are business people, but they aren’t aware of the opportunity. So the goal is to communicate to everyone who comes in that there is an opportunity to grow with us, and we really want to be famous for having the best franchisees out in the marketplace.”

Mabry says the brand “stands above and beyond any other franchise in the brunch and breakfast segment,” and as Famous Toastery continues to expand, its mission is to “continue to attract like-minded people” and help talented new franchisees become famous in their own communities.

Mabry, who says his personal and professional mantra is “People. Food. Life.”, has a love for the restaurant industry that runs deep. He has been in the industry for 30 years. He has held positions in several different roles in the food and beverage world — from line cook to Chief Operating Officer to President — and considers himself fortunate to have learned something in each one. Over the last two decades, Mabry has worked with a number of food-service franchise brands, including MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, Macaroni Grill and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Now, he says he’s excited to be working closely with Famous Toastery CEO and founder Robert Maynard and the rest of his team. “I saw this as an opportunity to join a great company with a great culture and great people,” Mabry said. “I have two passions in life: people and food. Famous Toastery checks both of those boxes for me.”

As Famous Toastery prepares to expand into new markets, Mabry says his team is focusing on ensuring new franchisees have all the right systems in place, the appropriate support and the highest standards for quality in their establishments. “We’re in the service business, and we have to be servant leaders,” said Mabry. “So whenever a training team member or a marketing team member makes their way into a franchise location, their first question is always, ‘How can we best serve this franchisee?’ Once we’ve answered that question, we’ll be able to get to work and help them grow their business.”

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.ownatoastery.com.

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