Famous Toastery, the 25-plus unit better breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise, has announced the addition of Mike Sebazco to its executive team as president. Sebazco will help guide the brand into its next phase of franchise expansion as it grows strategically throughout the Carolinas and the Southeast with the aim of doubling its footprint over the next two years.

With 30 years of experience in the franchising and restaurant industry, Sebazco has been involved in the operations and growth of various brands, including Don Pablo’s, Boston Pizza and Texas Land & Cattle. Most recently, he served as the Executive Vice President of Operations and Development at MOOYAH Burgers, Fries and Shakes. Over his impressive career, Sebazco has been directly involved in opening 350 restaurant locations across the country and has played a key role in leading innovative prototype and menu engineering programs.

“As someone with a good amount of experience in the food service space, I know a strong, passion-driven franchise concept when I see one,” says Sebazco. “Famous Toastery stands out with not only an amazing menu but also a community focus that prioritizes the best of the best in customer service. This all makes for a very exciting franchise opportunity — and it is only getting better. I saw how much the team has been investing in franchisee support, operations and marketing over the past few years, and I knew it would be an honor to come aboard and help usher in a new era of growth for Famous Toastery.”

Over the past year, Famous Toastery has been emphasizing a new mantra of “Be Famous,” perfecting a business model that encourages franchisees to quickly become locally famous as pillars of their communities and providing not only “Famously Fresh” food made daily but a hub for friends, families and neighbors to come together. This includes an all-out brand refresh featuring new additions to the leadership team, a new menu and store remodel, updated cost efficiencies and increased franchisee support.

For example, Famous Toastery recently rolled out a revamped menu and a new “Famously Fresh” tagline. This includes several new menu items created from feedback taken by customers, such as a protein power bowl, shrimp and grits and Nutella toast, as well as a first-of-a-kind partnership with North Carolina-based Abby’s Better Nut Butter for another new toast option.

The Famous Toastery team also set out to revamp and reopen their flagship Davidson, North Carolina location this year. This experience allowed them to test out new cost efficiencies and improvements to the business model, as well as outline a new-and-improved look for all stores in the system.

Now, with the brand stronger than ever and with leaders like Sebazco at the helm, the Famous Toastery team aims to have 50 locations open by the end of 2024. Five to seven deals will be in North Carolina, and the rest in South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mike to the team, and we know our franchisees, team members and customers will all benefit from his in-depth experience in the restaurant industry,” says Famous Toastery and Won Life Brands Managing Director, Michael Mabry. “This is a people business, and we need to have the highest level of people in place to execute our goal. 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 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 like Mike in place to support franchisees every step of the way is so important for our business moving forward.”