Flying Biscuit Café is heading to Palm Beach County, Florida, through a multi-unit development agreement with restaurant operator Matt Thomas. The deal gives Thomas development rights for two cafés, marking the Atlanta-based breakfast and brunch brand's first locations in the county. He is currently selecting the site for the first café, while the agreement adds another market to a system that now has 43 cafés open and 13 in development.
Thomas brings substantial restaurant experience to the expansion. He opened his first sandwich franchise restaurant in Chicago in 2005 before expanding into South Florida, where his group eventually operated 12 locations in addition to the original Chicago restaurant. After stepping away from franchising, Thomas began exploring breakfast concepts and was drawn to Flying Biscuit Café for its all-day menu and opportunity to build a new business in Florida.
Palm Beach County appealed to Thomas because of its mix of young professionals, families and retirees, as well as a climate that supports outdoor dining for much of the year. Rather than spreading the two cafés across separate markets, he plans to develop them within the same trade area, allowing the first location to become established before adding the second. The approach reflects his broader goal of building a cluster of locations while continuing to identify opportunities for growth.
The agreement also gives Flying Biscuit Café another experienced multi-unit operator as the brand expands across the Southeast and beyond. Andrew Scherzer, partner and director of franchise development for Flying Biscuit Franchising, said Thomas brings a strong understanding of restaurant operations, team leadership and business growth from his previous franchise experience. His addition comes as the brand continues developing markets in Florida, Texas, the Carolinas and other states.
For franchise operators entering new markets, expansion also creates a need to keep operational information organized as teams and locations grow. Gorilla Dash includes a Resource Library that can give franchise teams a centralized place to organize training materials, operating information and other resources, making it easier to keep important knowledge accessible across locations. This can be particularly useful for multi-unit operators establishing consistent processes while adding new cafés.
As Thomas prepares to open the first Flying Biscuit Café in Palm Beach County, the two-unit agreement represents more than a single market entry. It allows the brand to establish a presence in a new community through an operator who has already managed multi-unit restaurant growth. For Thomas, the next step is finding the right location and building a local operation that can serve as the foundation for the second café and future development.
