Toastique, the name synonymous with healthy and yummy gourmet toasts, has just opened our first healthy food franchise in New Jersey, in Stone Harbor. Leading the charge of our Jersey Shore operations is our newest Franchise Owner, Courtney Hoy, an entrepreneur who is determined to bring a convenient, healthy alternative to her town’s fast-casual dining scene. We’re always excited to announce a new Toastique location, but we’re especially excited about the Stone Harbor franchise location because it’s our first one to open outside of the Washington, D.C. area. That’s right, the healthy food franchise that’s got the nation’s capital hooked now has a location in the Garden State, and is heading West even as we speak! The grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Friday, May 7 was a proud and deeply satisfying moment for Hoy and the rest of the Toastique team. The event was co-hosted by the Cape May County Chamber of Commerce as the town witnessed the entry of the healthy food franchise chain with its unique, healthy, and artisanal toast creations.
A MISSION TO KEEP PEOPLE HEALTHY
What makes Courtney Hoy the right person to lead Toastique’s entry into New Jersey? Well, how about her 20-year career at the YMCA for a start? That long stint in a fitness-oriented atmosphere instilled in her the need to foster the holistic and long-term development of people. “Coming from the Y, which is all about keeping people healthy in spirit, mind, and body, trying to keep people healthy has always been a part of me,” she said in an interview last year. “Owning a Toastique is a great opportunity to do this another way.” This underscores the mission that our Founder, Brianna Keefe, has always believed in- creating and serving delicious food that is healthy, distinctive, and wholesome. So, while Hoy’s responsibilities have evolved from those of her role at YMCA, she is certain that her fundamental mission in life remains the same: To help people become better versions of themselves. This profound sense of purpose and fulfillment is something that she shares with all other Franchise Owners and staff members of Toastique.INSPIRED BY ENTREPRENEURS
Entrepreneurship isn’t something new for Hoy’s family. Her dad owns his business so she was always privy to the life of an entrepreneur. But her dad wasn’t the only inspiration for her to start something on her own. Hoy is the sister of our CFO and Director of Construction, Kyle Izett. That gave her a unique vantage point to see the growth of the healthy food franchise and its enormous potential. Seeing Kyle and Brianna find monumental success as business owners and Franchisors also inspired her to become an entrepreneur. Hoy saw how Toastique grew from a single location to several stores in Washington in a quick span. She also saw how Keefe and Izett partnered the Franchise Owners every step of the way. She wanted to be part of the Toastique journey and when she was with Kyle and Brianna and spotted the future location of her Jersey Shore Toastique last summer, “It just kind of worked out,” says Courtney.Keefe recalls, “We first saw the space on August 29th, 2020…which was love at first sight…and immediately called the real estate agent and walked the space the same day!” Five days later, Courtney received the lease, and Kyle and Brianna went into overdrive with the rest of the Toastique support crew- facilitating the construction, permitting, interior design, and health inspection processes necessary for opening a healthy food franchise. Courtney Hoy had the full support of the Founders themselves from literally the first moment she decided to invest in a Toastique!
FOR FREEDOM, FOR FLEXIBILITY
Financial success is only a part of what inspires entrepreneurs. For Hoy, like all other Franchise Owners of Toastique, it was about freedom and flexibility. As she began her entrepreneurial journey to promote wellness through healthy food, she was sure that she didn’t want to neglect the needs of her family. The freedom to decide one’s working hours appealed to this mom of a one-year-old toddler. “I’m a new mom, and I love the idea of being able to set my own schedule,” she says. Hoy is proof that just because you’re building a highly successful business that changes the eating habits of a town doesn’t mean your family can’t still come first.“AMAZING AND OVERWHELMING”
Every successful entrepreneur knows one thing about starting a business: You can only launch it once. So, you better get it right the first time around. Which is something Hoy doesn’t have to worry about as her Stone Harbor launch was nothing short of exceptional. Here are the numbers that prove it:207
Opening weekend orders
3,370
Opening month orders
986
Avaocado Smash toasts
2,583
Gourmet toasts
1,226
Açaí bowls
1,229
Smoothies
“Amazing and overwhelming,” as Courtney puts it, is one way to describe the success of the launch. After being open for just over a month, our Stone Harbor location is performing beyond all expectations! Brianna reports, “After only 36 days, [the Stone Harbor location] has been outperforming all of our [corporate-owned] stores in D.C.” But more than the overwhelming success of her first month in business, what’s been gratifying for Courtney has been the response from the customers. She’s delighted with how customers in Stone Harbor have received the healthy, artisanal, and highly Instagrammable toasts. It’s one thing to have repeat customers. For the new Toastique Franchise Owner, it’s a totally different thing when those customers bring their friends to the store. Having people rave about the food she serves them has made it all worthwhile for Courtney.
THE JOURNEY TO COURTNEY’S GRAND OPENING
In addition to the comprehensive support with construction and buildout of the Stone Harbor location, Hoy was able to open her Toastique healthy food franchise with confidence, thanks to the unparalleled support our Franchise Owners can count on from the Founders themselves! “Kyle and I were up there for over four weeks to make sure this store was up and running smoothly,” says Brianna, adding, “I trained all employees in those four weeks and taught them everything I know!” Additionally, Brianna was on hand to work with all of our vendors, such as our dedicated Washington, D.C. bread vendor, who will be shipping flash-frozen loaves to ensure freshness, as well as local purveyors of produce, to ensure Courtney receives all of the high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients she’ll need. She says, “I also provided them with prep lists and inventory sheets catered to their specific volume and vendors to ensure the most accurate and effective preparedness.” This highly important part of the setup process will be of great value to Franchise Owners as Keefe and the rest of the Toastique team begin establishing relationships with specialty produce vendors in regions across the country. Our commitment to using fresh, local ingredients in each of our menu items is one of the cornerstones of our mission, and we’re serious about upholding that tenet in every market we enter- Brianna will make sure of it!THE FUTURE IS EXCITING
If the mounting evidence we’re seeing concerning a shift in people’s eating habits is to be believed, these amazing first-month numbers are only the beginning for Hoy and the rest of the Toastique team. If there’s one lasting good impact of the past year and a half, it’s that people have become more health-conscious. They are mindful of what they consume and its effects on their bodies. Courtney knows that this is excellent news for a healthy food franchise like Toastique. Health and nutrition won’t be just trending topics for a while. With people understanding the importance of personal wellness and the role of food in it, Toastique stands to gain from the health-conscious choices consumers will make. Once they discover the gourmet toasts, smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and açaí bowls, they will also realize that healthy can also mean tasty and wholesome.Of course, then there’s the exclusivity. Toastique is the only national healthy food franchise that focuses on gourmet toasts. It’s a market that Toastique has created and one which will grow with each Franchise Owner. The fact that Toastique only allows one Franchise Owner in a territory to avoid crowding and undercutting has also got Hoy excited.“I know it’s going to be the best thing I ever did,” she says. “There is no better feeling in the world than introducing the brand to a new city and witnessing an entirely new clientele rave over it,” Keefe says. “It is such a rewarding feeling and I am happy I get to share it with Courtney and all our future Franchise Owners! From day one, we gained regulars who would come back every single day. We had families that would come for breakfast and lunch in one day! The excitement full of butterflies I get on opening day never gets old so I absolutely cannot wait to feel this feeling over and over again!” You too can make your entrepreneurial dreams come true like Courtney Hoy and others. Click here for more information on how you can have a profitable and future-oriented healthy food franchise with an investment of just $280,750. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Instagram. Subscribe to our YouTube channel. (Warning: May result in intense cravings- visit at your own risk!)
