High school friends Troy Charhon and Andrew Schoellkopf were drinking beers one day when the idea for their restaurant Bread Zeppelin came to them. They thought that there must be a way to get away from the traditional sandwich market.
Both had restaurant experience: Schoellkopf was working at Eatzi’s and Charhon at Central Market – both in Dallas – when they had the idea to start their own place by filling a hole in the market, literally, with their Zeppelin.
Dallas-based fast-casual Bread Zeppelin is known for its unique sandwiches that are cored out baguettes filled with chopped salads.
“We consider our [product] a mix between a salad and a sandwich,” Charhon told Nation’s Restaurant News.
Now, the team is looking toward rapid expansion.
With six locations in the Dallas Fort-Worth area and one franchised unit in Houston, the two men are looking towards the future.
Though they just inked their first franchisee deal, the plan is for this franchisee to develop the entire Houston market with over 20 units. For the time being, the team in Houston will open three units and reevaluate before moving forward.
This is the strategy that the leadership team hopes to have moving forward: one franchisee to develop an entire region.
“We know there are markets particularly, on the coast, that could handle this brand,” said Charhon.
Currently, the two are looking to other parts of Texas and the surrounding states for more units, but they are open to exploring areas.
“We have demand for a lot more. Customers are asking for a lot more. We have a lot more to fill out now that we feel we have the right systems,” Charhon continued.
The brand initially opened in 2012. Why wait so long to begin franchising?
“We wanted to grow responsibly,” Charhon said.
To become a franchisee in this system, you need to understand “the importance of people… experience in restaurant industry and leading people [and the] ability to succeed,” he said.
Don’t be afraid of becoming a franchisee, Charhon advised.
“We have an extremely loyal customer,” he said. “We have a great cult-like following.”
The brand’s app launched in Sept. 2020 and currently over 33% of digital orders are placed there, as opposed to third-party apps.