---
title: "Why Bread Zeppelin Is Hitting Pause on Franchising: ‘We Have a Lot to Prove’"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/e25b8bc3-6cd1-423a-9485-c4489de5305b
source: "Entrepreneur Franchise"
original_url: https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/why-bread-zeppelin-is-hitting-pause-on-franchising
author: "Jonathan Small"
category: "Fast casual"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Fast casual"
topics: ["Emerging brands"]
published: 2026-05-07T15:30:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T13:17:54.892Z
image: https://www.entrepreneur.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/05/bread-zeppelin-0526.jpg
---

# Why Bread Zeppelin Is Hitting Pause on Franchising: ‘We Have a Lot to Prove’

**TL;DR:** Bread Zeppelin, a 10-unit salad chain, is pausing its franchise program for two years to focus on company-owned growth and strengthening its business model. The chain plans to resume franchising in 2028 with a proven model to attract sophisticated, well-capitalized franchisees.

*By Jonathan Small, originally published in Entrepreneur Franchise on 2026-05-07. [Read the original](https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/why-bread-zeppelin-is-hitting-pause-on-franchising).*

## Story

The 10-unit chain is focusing on company-owned growth to attract sophisticated, well-capitalized franchisees down the road.

Bread Zeppelin is deflating its franchising plans for the next two years, and the reason has nothing to do with slowing sales.

The 10-unit salad chain—known for stuffing greens into hollowed-out baguettes—is saying no to most franchise requests in order to focus on company-owned growth instead. President Vincent Ginatta says the strategy is about attracting the right kind of franchisee later. “We’re adopting a more long-term position,” Ginatta told Restaurant Business.

“I think we have a lot to prove. Most of the types of franchisees we’re looking for—those with experience or the wherewithal, capital, to develop a large number of units, want to see more proven.” The chain has $1.

5 million in average unit volume and high single-digit comp growth, but Ginatta says they’re still optimizing the model.

Three new company-owned units are opening this year to fill out the Dallas market. By 2028, Bread Zeppelin plans to resume franchising with a proven model that attracts sophisticated, well-capitalized multi-unit operators.

## Entities

- Entrepreneur (publication)
- Emerging (sector)
- Jonathan Small (person)
- Bread Zeppelin (company)
- business model optimization (topic)
- Vincent Ginatta (person)
- company-owned growth (topic)
- franchise pause (topic)

---
Originally reported by Jonathan Small, Entrepreneur Franchise (https://www.entrepreneur.com/buying-a-franchise/why-bread-zeppelin-is-hitting-pause-on-franchising). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/e25b8bc3-6cd1-423a-9485-c4489de5305b).