The Charlotte Observer: Pro Athlete Finds Similarities Between Franchising and Following a Playbook

Justin Griffith, a former NFL fullback, is behind the new Famous Toastery opening coming up in March 2017 in the heart of uptown in Charlotte. Griffith has seen similarities between franchising and following a playbook, which is something he knows quite well after playing in the NFL for eight years.

Griffith's latest job was the offensive quality control coach with the Oakland Raiders, but he wanted something that would keep him in the same spot. An "Ascending Athletes" seminar introduced him to franchising, and his love of Famous Toastery's breakfast brought him to that specific franchise.

"It made sense to me. Here's the product, you have the groundwork already laid. The one thing you have to do as a business owner is learn the playbook, learn the system," Griffith told The Charlotte Observer reporter.

After researching the brand, Griffith filled out a franchising form online and was soon after connected with Robert Maynard, the founder of Famous Toastery.

"NFL aside and competition aside, (Griffith) wants to follow what we're doing. If you can do it over and over, it's a fit. The uptown space, it's walking distance to the baseball stadium, Bank of America Stadium, the Hornets (Spectrum Center). It's very sports-driven, and it will be very cool for him to be running the store," Maynard told the reporter.

The uptown location will begin construction in December with an opening in early March 2017.