News

La Madeleine ramping up growth

La Madeleine Country French Café is upping its franchise growth initiative with plans to open more than 50 cafés in the next few years.

November 4, 2015

La Madeleine Country French Café is upping its franchise growth initiative with plans to open more than 50 cafés in the next few years, according to a company press release.

"This is our most notable franchise growth phase in our 32-year history," said 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, as well as recognition as one of the Top 100 "Movers & Shakers" by Fast Casual, la Madeleine is set to ramp up franchise growth in 2016 with several franchise locations opening throughout the year in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, New Mexico, North Carolina and Texas, Cahill said.

Its targeted growth objective is focused on awarding development deals to multi-unit, multi-brand restaurant ownership groups eager to enhance their portfolios with a concept ripe for growth.

Recently, la Madeleine finalized franchise agreements with three multi-unit, multi-brand operators, including Ramzi Hakim, a 30-unit IHOP franchisee in San Antonio, who will open multiple cafés in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh. 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, Cahill said.