Famous Toastery closes one of its south Charlotte locations 6 months after opening

Catherine Muccigrosso
·3 min read

A popular Charlotte breakfast chain abruptly closed one of its restaurants less than six months after opening it.

The Famous Toastery store at 7741 Colony Road in south Charlotte has permanently closed, according to the chain’s Facebook page. The company updated the hours last week to say it was closed. The Colony Road store was the Charlotte-based chain’s eighth corporate restaurant when it opened in June.

The location was testing a smaller footprint for Famous Toastery, company president Mike Sebazco said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer on Monday. “(We) quickly learned that this space was simply not large enough,” Sebazco said.

Famous Toastery is popular for its breakfast, brunch and lunch. When the Colony Road store opened, restaurant officials said another six stores were in development, including a debut in Florida.

Friends Brian Burchill and Robert Maynard opened the first Famous Toastery in 2005 in Huntersville. Famous Toastery began franchising in 2013. The company now has 24 stores in the Carolinas and Virginia, according to Famous Toastery’s website. A store in Blowing Rock is listed as closed on the website.

Famous Toastery has a restaurant about 4 miles south from the Colony Road store at 8430 Rea Road in Ballantyne. There are 16 other stores in the Charlotte region, including Ayrsley, Dilworth, University and uptown.

In 2019, Famous Toastery had more than 30 locations when the News & Observer reported three Triangle-area locations closed and another filed for bankruptcy. However, no Charlotte stores closed and the company planned to open more locations, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Breakfast and brunch have become big competition locally and nationwide. For instance, Emmy-award winning Schitt’s Creek co-creator Dan Levy’s “The Big Brunch” debuted last year on Max.

Famous Toastery, known for its breakfast including Eggs Benedict, has closed its Colony Road store in south Charlotte after opening in June.
Famous Toastery, known for its breakfast including Eggs Benedict, has closed its Colony Road store in south Charlotte after opening in June.

More brunch options in Charlotte

Several other breakfast and brunch spots also have expanded recently in the Charlotte region.

▪ In August, Florida-based First Watch opened at Ballantyne. The breakfast, brunch and lunch cafe is known for a menu with banana granola crunch pancakes, turkey burgers and seasonal dishes. First Watch opened a SouthPark store two years ago.

▪ In June, Ruby Slipper Restaurant Group pivoted from opening a downtown Matthews location to open at 12330 Johnston Road in Ballantyne. The restaurant serves a New Orleans twist on Southern brunch classics. The first North Carolina store opened three years ago at 332 W. Bland St. in South End.

▪ In May, James Beard-nominated chef Gregory Collier and business partner/wife Subrina opened Uptown Yolk at 1220 S. Tryon St. in South End. The original location opened in Rock Hill but closed during the pandemic. The Charlotte restaurant is part of the Colliers’ BayHaven Restaurant Group. The restaurant is expanding to open for dinner, partnering with Raydal Hospitality Group, the team behind Sabor, Three Amigos and La Caseta, CharlotteFive reported.

▪ In February, Harold’s Chicken & Ice Bar opened East McCullough Drive with a new offering — a weekend brunch featuring specialty French toast.

▪ Last year, Snooze, an A.M. Eatery opened its third store, coming to SouthPark at 4425 Sharon Road. The Colorado-based restaurant is known for “creative twists” on breakfast and drinks. In 2019, Snooze opened at 1331 Central Ave. in Plaza Midwood, followed by The Avenues at Atherton in South End.

▪ Also last year, Florida-based Metro Diner opened Metro Diner To-Go oat 3440 St Vardell Lane in South End serving breakfast, lunch and brunch for delivery, pick-up and catering. Other locations are in Huntersville, Matthews and Pineville.

▪ Vicious Biscuit, a Charleston-based, fast-casual breakfast and brunch spot, opened in June 2022 in Charlotte with a 3,000-square-foot space at 8200 Providence Road in The Arboretum shopping center.

▪ Mattie’s Diner also reopened just over a year ago at 3100 The Plaza with its original menu items like pancakes and French toast, and favorites like macaroni-and-cheese, meatloaf, fried chicken and milkshakes.

▪ Asheville-based Early Girl Eatery also opened last year at 1515 S. Tryon St. with its breakfast menu including chicken and waffles and porky breakfast bowl.