Sam Mustafa, CEO of Charleston Hospitality Group discusses his experience franchising his Toast All Day restaurant concept during the height of the global pandemic. This blog commemorates Toast All Day as an official nationwide franchise.

Cheers, ya’ll! Toast All Day has been an official nationwide franchise for over ONE YEAR!

Our CEO, Sam Mustafa Speaks On Restaurant Success During The Pandemic:
“I never found success by claiming to be ‘the best restaurant,’ Sam Mustafa, CEO of Charleston Hospitality Group said. “My restaurants are a place where people come to tell others about a personal success and have other people who are happy to celebrate with them. Toast All Day is about being a place where everybody feels like somebody.”

Who Is Toast All Day?
Toast All Day is Charleston Hospitality Group’s, five-unit, casual-dining concept. Last Fall 2020, Toast All Day franchised nationwide. Our casual-dining restaurant’s name is a nod to “toasting” to life’s celebrations and offers southern comfort foods for multiple day-parts, including sweet Charleston-inspired breakfasts; soups, salads, and sandwiches for lunch; and a classic American menu for dinner. In addition to our southern cuisine, we are also known for our specialty mimosas and extraordinary hospitality.

How Did We Franchise During a Global Pandemic? We Did Whatever It Takes.
With over 50% of restaurant closures in the past year, the odds for staying open were not in our favor and franchising.. Well that percentage was even higher. For us, closing was not an option. However, when it came to franchising- that was a challenge we gladly accepted.

Whatever it takes is a concept and mindset that encompasses our work culture here at Charleston Hospitality Group, Toast All Day and all of our restaurant concepts. This motto goes far beyond providing all guests with an exceptional service, it also reinforces the camaraderie within our team across all of our restaurant brands.

Don’t Overthink The Small Stuff
It’s simple: You support your teammates, they support you. You provide exceptional service, you receive return guests and these return guests are the lifeline to your restaurant’s profitability. This mentality has been a driving force for Toast All Day’s successful franchise growth during the Covid-19 Pandemic. This operational mindset also allowed us to receive one of TripAdvisor’s highest awards of 2021 Best of the Best Restaurant Awards nationwide!

TripAdvisor Accolade: 2021 Best of the Best Restaurants Awards
For those who may not be aware, earlier in the year, TripAdvisor announced the winners for their annual Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best list and Toast of Charleston was ranked in the top 25 as a ‘restaurant that hosts the weekend’s favorite meal.’ Winners are chosen just as the name suggests: the travelers’ choice. According to a press release by TripAdvisor, “The 2021 Best of the Best Restaurants Awards are calculated based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews and ratings for restaurants on TripAdvisor collected from Jan. 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021.” This award is their highest recognition and is presented annually to those businesses that earn excellent reviews from travelers and are ranked in the top 1% of properties worldwide.

Our Greatest Advice: Adapt To Your Environment
Last year was a polarizing time for everyone and we all know that the hospitality industry has taken one of the largest hits nationwide. This past year across the United States, we have seen companies flourish OR had to turn to closing their establishments indefinitely. One commonality demonstrated between the success and failure of a restaurant has been the persistence to adapt to trends and the constant varying circumstances ignited by the pandemic.

While it was nowhere close to easy, Charleston Hospitality Group and their employees knew what was at stake and dedicated their time to preventing any restaurant closures. This led the company to start charitable campaigns, such as Full Belly Full Hearts, employees working flexible hours, restructuring operations and developing creative innovations within the restaurant’s menu to bypass supply chain disruptions. All of these adjustments to news trends partnered with our irreplaceable staff has been our recipe for success.

Sam Mustafa is the the CEO of Charleston Hospitality Group and Toast! All Day Franchise. Named one of the nation’s 100 most influential CEOs by Nation’s Restaurant News and frequent speaker on Joe Pardavila’s Podcast on ForbesBooks Radio.  He has also been featured on Medium, Authority Magazine, describing his version of the American Dream. Sam is one of the leading voices in the Restaurant Industry.

Bibliography

1) Fantozzi, Joanna. “Look Who’s Franchising Now: Fall Edition.” Nation’s Restaurant News, https://www.nrn.com/franchising/look-who-s-franchising-now-fall-edition/gallery?slide=6.

2) King, Rachel. “More than 110,000 Eating and Drinking Establishments Closed in 2020.” Fortune, Fortune, 26 Jan. 2021, https://fortune.com/2021/01/26/restaurants-bars-closed-2020-jobs-lost-how-many-have-closed-us-covid-pandemic-stimulus-unemployment/.