How CapitalSpring Helped The Works Bakery Café Build a Stronger Future

For nearly four decades, The Works Bakery Café has served as a community-driven, Northeast-based legacy brand — but Founder and CEO Richard French knew longevity alone wasn’t enough. He wanted a partner who could help the brand stay relevant, scale with intention, and strengthen operational foundations.

“We’ve been around for 38 years, so I would call us a little bit of a legacy brand,” French said. “What got us here may not get us there.”

As he explored the market, he evaluated several growth equity firms. “In my mind,” French said, “CapitalSpring was the cream that rose to the top.”

French’s decision centered on three major factors: industry experience, franchise expertise and personal fit. CapitalSpring’s deep specialization in restaurants — from fast casual to QSR to full service — gave French confidence that the team understood the unique pressures operators face. “They’d been around for a few decades, so that was a plus,” he said.

Partnership details

But the final deciding factor was cultural alignment. French describes the team as grounded and collaborative — the kind of partner he believed would navigate tough decisions with integrity. “I found them to be down-to-earth, real people,” he said. “My gut instincts were correct.”

One of the most immediate impacts of the partnership was support in building out leadership and strengthening the company’s infrastructure. CapitalSpring provided access to recruiters, participated in interviews and helped shape the senior management team.

“They’ve been immensely helpful,” French said. “Access to recruiters, involvement in the interviewing process — as we scale, that’s been important.”

CapitaSpring also helped the Works implement more rigorous financial analysis and performance tracking. French notes that their business is now reviewing data at a level of detail that unlocks better decision-making. “We analyze the numbers at a much deeper level than we ever have,” he said. “That could lead to wonderful insights and further refinement of profitability.”

With CapitalSpring’s tools, relationships and experience, The Works rebuilt its approach to development and real estate strategy. The brand now uses a more data-driven process for evaluating sites, forecasting performance, and mapping expansion.

“We scrutinize sites in much greater detail than we ever did,” French said. “It’s hopefully more science and less gut.”

Growth and results

The partnership has already produced measurable results. In the first 18 months, the brand grew by 30%, supported by robust site-selection frameworks and a development roadmap shaped by CapitalSpring’s playbook.

Being part of CapitalSpring’s portfolio also brings the benefits of scale — something regional operators often struggle to access on their own. Through negotiated partnerships and shared vendor programs, The Works now receives enterprise-level pricing in several operational categories.

“We’re a Toast customer, and we have special pricing because we’re a CapitalSpring portfolio partner,” French said. “They bring pricing for a much larger company.”

This extends to everything from linen services to signage to technology platforms. By tapping into a $3-billion-plus portfolio, The Works gains cost efficiencies that directly strengthen margins.

Innovation and future plans

Beyond operational improvements, the partnership is helping the brand prepare for long-term innovation. The Works is exploring new restaurant design concepts, expanded pick-up and drive-thru formats, and modernization initiatives supported by CapitalSpring’s broader network.

“We’ve had upgrades in our accounting software — we’re cloud-based now,” French said. “We’ve instituted labor, scheduling and back-of-house software that we didn’t have before.”

French also notes upcoming collaboration with Mosley Group to develop “The Works 4.0,” the brand’s next-generation design vision. “They have that large network, and can bring fully vetted professionals so we know we are hiring someone great,” he said.

Eighteen months in, French describes the partnership as both affirming and transformative. The company is growing faster, operating with greater precision, and planning for a stronger future — all while maintaining alignment with a partner that shares their values.

“It has played out very true and very significantly,” he said. “We’re working really hard on continuing to build the foundation to support that growth.”

The statements above represent the opinions of founders and senior executives of portfolio companies in which private funds advised by CapitalSpring have invested. These individuals are not clients of CapitalSpring and have not received any compensation for their endorsement. Because their companies benefit from a relationship with CapitalSpring, including investments by CapitalSpring and private funds that we advise, conflicts of interest may exist. Past performance is not indicative of future results. These endorsements should not be interpreted as investment advice or recommendations.