Top Round Roast Beef announced its second franchise agreement, primed to bring four stores to the Louisville, Kentucky, area. Following its first franchise deal in San Jose, California, the chef-driven fast-food concept has selected veteran television producer, Billy Rapaport and his wife, Elizabeth, to bring the brand to Kentucky. The first Louisville Top Round Roast Beef restaurant is expected to open within the next year.

“Louisville is on the way to becoming a major food epicenter in the midwest,” says Billy Rapaport, Top Round franchisee.  “An innovative brand like Top Round is the perfect accent to that.”

“We're extremely excited to bring Top Round Roast Beef to Louisville,” says Jamie Tiampo, cofounder of Top Round Roast Beef. “We're expecting even more growth throughout the U.S. in the next few years."

The nonexclusive franchise deal was brokered by Mario Altiery of Upside Group Franchise Consulting. With tremendous interest in Southern California, Northern California, Chicago, New York, Miami, Dallas, and beyond, Top Round expects to announce additional franchise deals in the coming months.

Founded by Chef Anthony Carron, Noah Ellis, chef Steven Fretz, and James Beard Award Winner Jamie Tiampo, Top Round Roast Beef is a chef-driven fast-food concept where people can nosh on wholesome roast beef sandwiches while enjoying a fun, nostalgic atmosphere. Modeled after the roast beef chains of yesteryear, Top Round serves up sandwiches made with USDA Choice Top Round that is slow roasted for 12 hours and garnished with a variety of delicious toppings, including horseradish cream, house-crafted “Wizz,” roasted mushrooms, jalapeño straws, and Provel cheese.  Customers can also savor hand-cut curly fries cooked in 100 percent beef fat, hand-breaded chicken sandwiches, authentic milkshakes of extraordinary flavor combinations, and frozen custards called “concretes.” Diners can also have fun creating their own floats by choosing from 127 Coca-Cola flavors.

Before their grand opening in June of 2013, the astute entrepreneurs carefully designed a nostalgic menu made with real ingredients, which would keep their customers’ mouths watering and coming back for more, usually with their family and friends in tow. After accumulating rave reviews and copious accolades, Carron, Ellis, Fretz, and Tiampo developed teachable systems and repeatable processes which make Top Round Roast Beef the perfect contender to become a franchise leader in an under explored market.