La Madeleine is “a concept like no other with an award-winning menu and untapped potential in the bakery-café category,” says Chris Cheek, vice president, franchise development at La Madeleine, a country-French, fast-casual concept (Cheek).
La Madeleine had its beginnings some 30 years ago when Patrick Leon Esquerré came to the United States from France. Here, he did not find the aroma of fresh-baked baguettes and espresso, so he decided to open a café that offered just that (La Madeleine). Cheek claims that the brand is unique and that there is no one else doing country French in a fast-casual environment. He states, “Our approach to food, training, and interacting with our guests begins with our belief that we are in the hospitality business. You approach guests—not customers—as if they are dining in your home (Cheek).
La Madeleine’s mission is to recreate the food of the French countryside. The bakery offers authentic French sauces, marinades, and dressings. These used to be made from scratch but are now outsourced in order to reduce the size of the kitchens and have better quality control. The same goes for La Madeleine’s breads and pastries. In addition, the bakery’s food also emphasizes crepes, quiches, salads, sandwiches, and soups.
Interested in owning a franchise? This is not easy. There are many requirements if you want to be an owner. First, you must have experience as a multi-unit operator. Then you must be able to prove that you have the financial and operational resources to develop a multi-unit territory. This translates to resources of more than $2 million and a net worth greater than $5 million in liquid assets. For this, La Madeleine will provide qualified franchisees with “a world-class concept and extensive support to help them grow their business and the la Madeleine brand” according to Cheek. The Company will also assist in the areas of real estate, marketing, operations and training, purchasing, construction and culinary expertise (La Madeleine).
El Paso's first La Madeleine will open at the Fountains at Farah in a few weeks. This 600,000 square-foot shopping center on the East Side was opened only last year and is now adding some new flair to the city’s up-scale eatery options with the addition of this franchise. As for me, I’m a great fan, so I’m happily awaiting the opening to enjoy the best bread ever!
Works Cited
Cheek, Chris. "La Madeleine - Restaurant Franchising." QSR - Limited Service, Unlimited
Possibilities. n.d. n. page. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
"La Madeleine French Country Cafe Launches Franchise Program." FranchiseWire. N.p., 27
Sept 2011. Web. 8 Mar 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment