La Madeleine Country French Café, an authentic country French bakery café, announced an extensive franchise growth initiative to increase its U.S. presence by more than 50 cafés in the next few years. Setting the stage for impressive growth in 2016, la Madeleine has announced signed agreements to open numerous cafés in attractive markets in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas.
“This is our most notable franchise growth phase in our 32-year history,” says John Cahill, president of la Madeleine. “La Madeleine has the ability to fully immerse itself into the fabric of many of America’s most attractive communities, and we are pleased to introduce our unique and beloved brand to new markets throughout the Southwest, Southeast, and Rockies regions.”
Amid a significant year of growth that includes café openings in Texas, Florida, Kentucky, and Maryland, la Madeleine is set to ramp up franchise growth in 2016 with several franchise locations opening throughout the year ahead. La Madeleine’s targeted growth objective is focused on awarding development deals to multiunit, multi-brand restaurant ownership groups eager to enhance their portfolios with a concept ripe for growth.
Recently, la Madeleine finalized franchise agreements with three multiunit, multi-brand operators, including Ramzi Hakim, a 30-unit IHOP franchisee in San Antonio, who will open multiple cafés in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina. Plus, savvy executive and entrepreneur Dan McReynolds plans to open several cafés in Colorado. Further, existing El Paso la Madeleine franchisee, Alejandra de la Vega, who also owns Domino’s and Starbucks franchise units, plans to open additional cafés in El Paso, New Mexico, and Arizona.
In addition to new franchise locations, la Madeleine has continued to expand its corporate locations, including two new cafés opening in Orlando at the end of 2015. Additional corporate openings planned for 2016 include new cafés in Florida and Texas.
Founded in 1983 by Patrick Esquerré, la Madeleine was one of the originators of the fast-casual concept and has continued to be an industry innovator since then. The brand has achieved more than five years of positive comp store sales and is poised for significant development through corporate openings and franchising expansion in 2016.
La Madeleine is committed to using the season’s freshest ingredients and adapting to guests’ varied tastes, while maintaining its French authenticity both on the menu and in each café’s warm and comfortable interior.
From its founding to today, the brand has also made giving back to the community a high priority. Since 2012, la Madeleine has focused on the fight to help end childhood hunger, raising an average of $250,000 a year.