Sunny Street Café, a fast-growing breakfast-lunch chain, is enhancing its leadership team and bringing on a new president with extensive development experience as the franchise readies for the next stage of growth.
Sunny Street Café has named Scott Moffitt as the company’s new president. Moffitt has more than 25 years of experience in the food service industry and has held senior level management positions with such nationally recognized brands as Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, CKE Restaurants Inc., and Church’s Chicken.
“Scott brings a wealth of franchise, real estate, and operational experience to support our growing franchise community,” says Michael Stasko Sr., Sunny Street Café’s chairman. “With expansion into Canada pending and multiple U.S. restaurants under construction, Scott will support the chain’s new growth and will provide additional resources to deliver on our promise for quality service and support to our franchisees.”
Just recently, Sunny Street Café signed on three new franchisees in Columbus and Concord, Ohio, and Topeka, Kansas. In mid-May, the company will open its first restaurant in northeast Ohio at 7531 Crile Rd., Concord, Ohio. The chain is also currently identifying new locations in its fast-growing Central Ohio and Texas markets. The next Dallas area restaurant will open in August at 231 E. FM 544, Suite 709, Murphy, Texas. In April, the company opened its first free-standing unit with drive-thru in Topeka, Kansas. This restaurant marks the franchise’s first unit in the Topeka market.
“The Topeka unit demonstrates Sunny Street Café’s flexibility and creativity,” Moffitt says. “The conversion of a free-standing building with drive-thru is the first of its type for our concept. We are closely monitoring the guest experience at this location to determine if this could be a go-forward, growth concept for us.”
During the next several months, the company is launching a new menu to coincide with the re-branding from Rise & Dine Restaurants to Sunny Street Café. In addition, select locations are experimenting with an evening daypart. The company is also exploring partnerships with other non-competitive, small to mid-size franchise systems to leverage its buying power and to increase profitability for franchisees. Other initiatives include the recent formation of the Columbus, Ohio, Advertising Cooperative and a system-wide initiative to grow the chain’s catering business.
“We have experienced a rebound in first quarter sales and are exploring new programs to continue the trend,” Moffitt says. “Catering is one of our biggest opportunities for growth. It aligns with our core capabilities and creates another line of revenue while staying within our current business model and hours of operation.”
