As the healthy and nutritious category within the limited-service foodservice space continues to grow, most concepts are focusing on salads, smoothies, and acai bowls. This has allowed Washington, D.C.-based fast-casual toast concept, Toastique, to thrive with very few competitors.
Founded by Brianna Keefe in 2018, Toastique’s menu also includes classic healthy options like smoothies, bowls, and juices, but the focus is on the colorful (and social media-friendly) open-faced toasted sandwiches. These items range from the expected Avocado Smash (her take on the classic avocado toast) to the more elaborate Tuscan tuna toast and the whimsical PB Crunch topped with peanut butter, fruit, and granola. Some locations even have a liquor license, which allows them the opportunity to offer healthier cocktails and a house-made Bloody Mary for brunchtime.
“The simple answer to ‘Why?’ is that I just love toast and I feel like it doesn't get as much attention as sandwiches — it’s just always a side item,” Keefe said. “When I traveled overseas, you see so many open-faced sandwiches and tartines, but in America we don’t really have anything like it. But this is truly how I’ve fed myself for many years.”
When Keefe started Toastique, she did not know much about the restaurant business. Even with a hospitality management degree under her belt, she still felt like a beginner in the industry. So Keefe built up a team around her with plentiful restaurant experience.
“I had the passion and the vision, but I did not have the culinary experience,” Keefe said. “I did not have the construction background. So my boyfriend's in construction and had the experience to make those connections for construction. Then we brought in our best friend that had kitchen experience.”
After just one year in operation, Toastique began franchising, and today it operates 30 locations — 80% of which are franchised — in several markets nationally, including Washington D.C., California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The company has opened 11 locations in just the past year alone. Moving forward, Keefe sees the hottest markets as California, Florida, New Jersey, and more. She particularly wants to open more stores in bustling cities with warmer climates to appeal to busy urbanites looking for a lighter meal.
“In such an urban place like D.C., people are always on the go and busy and need something quick, but they also want something healthy,” Keefe said. “I just convinced myself that people were going to love it as much as I do. So that first store was really just to create a job for myself. … But then after that, we gained traction really quickly, the vision became larger, and was saw that demand was in other cities too.”
While Keefe said that Toastique had originally started out as a passion project, it clearly has evolved into something much more, as more franchisees bring the loaded healthy toast concept to new markets across the country. The brand appeals to franchisees with both its unique concept and small footprint, which is around 1,200-1,400-square-feet, but which can do $1 million in sales.
Toastique has been able to expand rapidly due to not only the unique (and fairly cost-effective) business model, but also by how visual the brand is, which lends itself to spreading the word via social media and other digital advertising means.
“Our brand is so beautiful,” Keefe said. “The brand has this wow factor when you go to our website or Instagram, but also when you visit a store in person. The community aspect is huge as well. … That ties back into our franchising model. We want people who are part of the community and are comfortable with networking and outreach. At the end of the day, I think everyone wants to support a small business.”
Reporting contributed by Leigh Anne Zinsmeister
Toastique was named a 2024 Hot Concept by Nation’s Restaurant News, recognizing emerging chains from around the U.S. that have impressive growth momentum and the potential to become household names. Keefe will be speaking at CREATE, the free event for emerging restaurateurs, in Nashville this Oct. 9-11.
