Toastique is Heading to the Big Apple with New Franchise Owners Tiffany & Todd Siegel!
The U.S. has a few major markets that every franchise brand looks forward to breaking into, and while we began in Washington D.C., and have already introduced our gourmet toast and juice bar concept to L.A., we’re incredibly excited to announce that Toastique is officially headed to New York City next! We’ve had our eye on the Big Apple since we first opened franchising opportunities, and now we’ve finally welcomed a new couple of Franchise Owners who will help us introduce the Toastique concept to Manhattan – and maybe even beyond!
Allow Us to Introduce & Welcome the Siegels to the Toastique Franchise!
Returning from London to Leave Big Corporate Behind
Over the past few years, Tiffany and Todd Siegel have lived and worked in London after growing up in suburban New York. However, the couple made the decision to move back to the States, and while Todd has continued his position as a Global Director of Strategy and Operations for a major non-profit, Tiffany has taken a new approach since the move. Up until recently, Tiffany maintained a managerial position at Amazon, where she was tasked with leading the design, engineering, construction, and launch of new warehouses and sites across Europe.
While Tiffany felt she was fortunate enough to love her job and the company she worked for, she was always passionate about the idea of starting a business of her own. Luckily, she was able to use the couple’s move back to the U.S. as an opportunity to step back and reevaluate what she really wanted to do in her career and how she could pivot to something that would give her the flexibility she never had in the corporate world. This is the moment franchising entered the picture.
Tiffany & Todd Stumbled Into Franchising
The Siegels saw franchising and associated it with McDonald’s and many other major fast-food chains, like many people initially do, and couldn’t picture themselves starting a business this way. However, once they found a small coffee shop franchise near their home, Todd and Tiffany recognized the variety of brands within the franchise world and jumped into looking at franchises that matched their lifestyle and vision for their future together.
How Their Personal Experiences Pushed the Siegels Toward Healthy Franchising
Tiffany and Todd were beginning to recognize the diversity of franchise opportunities on the market. They reflected on their experiences and found that one thing was prevalent – and positive – in their lives that they could leverage in a business: healthy eating. While Todd found nutrition as a source of relief from his own chronic health condition, Tiffany recognized the important role healthy eating played in her recovery (and remission!) from cancer and the chemotherapy she underwent. Today, the pair still prioritizes nutritious food, and it’s this shared passion that led them to look at healthy restaurant concepts and – ultimately – the Toastique breakfast franchise.
The Siegel’s Introduction to Toastique
After Todd and Tiffany decided to seriously pursue franchising, the pair evaluated over 200 franchise brands, shortlisting only four thanks to the help of a franchise consultant. One of those four final franchises happened to be Toastique. Right from the start, the pair fell in love with the healthy, fast-casual concept, fondly likening our business opportunity to the healthy, grab-and-go restaurants they enjoyed during their time abroad in London and Europe, something they recognized the U.S. and New York City is greatly lacking.
While their initial dream was to open a coffee shop, Tiffany and Todd felt that Toastique was a healthy breakfast restaurant that would offer the best of both worlds: the fun, inviting atmosphere of a coffee shop paired with a substantial, health-focused menu. With the Toastique concept, they believe that opening their own business will give Tiffany the flexibility that she couldn’t find in her previous corporate role, and together, they’ll finally be on the path to financial freedom.
Meeting the Toastique Team at Approval Day
Once Todd and Tiffany made the decision to seriously consider the Toastique Franchise as their path to becoming entrepreneurs, they joined us in D.C. for Approval Day, and right from the start, the couple loved the warmth and engagement they felt throughout the process. By meeting and interacting with the corporate team – even ordering from Kyle while he was behind the counter – the Siegels felt relaxed and comfortable enough to ask the awkward questions and have the genuine conversations that led to their final decision.
Together with the supporting material they received, the validation calls they had with other new Franchisees, and the great experiences they had visiting other Toastique breakfast restaurants, Tiffany and Todd walked away impressed and as new Franchise Owners!
Why Tiffany & Todd Chose Manhattan
Since signing on, the Siegels have been busy learning everything they can about how to run their Toastique healthy breakfast restaurant, even flying down to our headquarters for our in-person training sessions! Now, they’re diving head first into the site selection process, and the couple can’t think of a territory better suited for Toastique than the Manhattan borough. Tiffany believes that the healthy, quick-service breakfast menu will be perfect for independent New Yorkers with an on-the-go lifestyle, in addition to becoming a community hub for the neighborhood it’s in.
“There is every type of person in New York City, and Toastique has something for each one. Does your friend need lunch, but you just want a drink? Toastique is a great place to meet. Are you a healthy eater, but your friend wouldn’t be caught dead in a vegan restaurant? Toastique has options for you too. We believe Toastique is what NYC is missing, and our passion for healthy eating and commitment to the community will make our location a success!”
Whether it’s the fast-paced life the Siegels love about New York or the passion, diversity, and culture Tiffany sees and admires about New Yorkers themselves, the pair believes that the city is the perfect fit for a Toastique gourmet toast and juice bar. Coming from their own experience with the area, including Tiffany’s childhood in the NYC suburbs and her college years in Hoboken, New Jersey, the couple always knew they would be back. This time, it’s to start a new chapter of their life and launch their own business – with Toastique.
Looking Forward to their Franchising Future
In the future, the Siegels are excited to explore all the different executing possibilities of being entrepreneurs. They recognize that Toastique could enable them to open as many as 20 Toastique breakfast franchise locations, but they can also see themselves owning a variety of businesses in the health food, travel, or even yoga industries. Ultimately, Tiffany and Todd are leaning into the flexibility franchising offers them, focusing on their immediate goal of opening a successful Toastique the community will love while they leave their long-term goal open-ended – for now!
Our Q&A with Tiffany & Todd
Now that the Siegels have settled back into NYC living after transitioning back from their London life, the pair is full steam ahead on finding the perfect site for their Manhattan Toastique! As busy as their schedule is, with Todd assisting the new business part-time and Tiffany focusing solely on opening their healthy breakfast franchise, the pair made time to sit down with our team to chat about everything from finding the right fit in franchising and getting to know Toastique.
What was the most surprising thing you learned during the Toastique Franchise Education process?
Tiffany: “I love how honest the team was from the very beginning about the finances. We found that some of the other franchises we evaluated shared high revenue and profit projections upfront, but when it came down to looking at the FDD and speaking to other franchisees, the actual financials weren’t as good as what we were told early on.
With Toastique, it was the opposite – we found that many of the stores we spoke to were doing better than the FDD projections (because the FDD only had a few stores due to the 2-year requirement, and many of the stores are less than 2 years old), so we [weren’t] being sold some great promise early on only to be disappointed. We were pleasantly surprised that the more we learned, the better the business opportunity seemed. [This] also gave us more trust and confidence in the leadership team. We love that they were transparent from day one – it speaks to their character!”
In your eyes, what sets Toastique apart from other franchise opportunities in the restaurant industry?
T: “It’s the focus on healthy, fast-casual [food] while still staying exciting. There are so many days when I want to have a healthy meal, but I want something a bit more exciting than a salad or a bit more unique than what I’d make. I think other people must feel this way too, and there aren’t many businesses that tick this box. [My favorite item was] the avocado toast!! It’s just better than any other avocado toast I’ve ever had. It has that wow factor – it’s not something I could have made at home.”
When was the ‘a-ha’ moment that made you decide to proceed with opening your own Toastique healthy breakfast restaurant?
T: “We visited several locations before Approval Day, and it was at the Chatham location in particular that we really saw ourselves opening a Toastique. [There] we were, loving our yummy, healthy food, watching how busy the store got even on a rainy day, [loving] the cozy feel of it, and just really felt like this was for us! We still wanted to go to Approval Day to be 100% sure, but I would say that was our moment.”
Does Tiffany and Todd’s story sound familiar? If you’re in a similar boat the Siegels were in before they found Toastique’s healthy franchising opportunities, there’s nothing holding you back from stepping in their shoes and following suit! If your area is in need of a healthy, fast-casual option and you need a more profitable career path in your life, you’re in the right place. Take the first step to opening your Toastique Gourmet Toast & Juice Bar location today by seeing if you’re a good fit with our 1-minute qualification quiz.
