With Impressive Year-Over-Year Sales Growth, Sunny Street Café Is the Next Big Opportunity in the Breakfast and Lunch Lifestyle Franchise Segment

In 2007, restaurant industry veteran Michael J. Stasko, the co-founder and owner of a 30-year-old restaurant equipment sales and consulting company, decided to venture into franchising as a way to work alongside his daughter and two sons. After signing a territory agreement with a breakfast franchise in Ohio, Stasko decided to double down and purchase the entirety of the company, changing its name to Sunny Street Café. Today, led by multiple generations of the Stasko family, the Columbus-based breakfast and lunch restaurant has grown to 23 corporate and franchised restaurants throughout the U.S. Now, the team is ready to pick up growth and is looking for qualified, passionate franchisees who are eager to build generational wealth for their own families by investing in a family-owned and community-driven restaurant. 

“The breakfast franchise category is the fastest-growing segment in the restaurant industry, and Sunny Street Café stands out as a truly family-owned franchise company,” said CEO and President Scott Moffitt. “Within communities, these restaurants become a place for business meetings, family get-togethers and weekend brunches. Especially now, as the main national chains die out, like IHOP and Bob Evans, emerging, more community-driven franchises like Sunny Street Café are here to fill that void.”

A Family Affair: The History of Sunny Street Café

From the inception of Sunny Street Café, Mike Stasko wanted to ensure his children would be involved in both the present and the future of the business. He asked his son, Mike Stasko Jr., to move back to Columbus to help him start the franchise, and today, 15 years later, Mike Jr. is the Vice President of Brand Strategy for Sunny Street Café and oversees marketing, design, communication and menu development for the brand. 

Mike’s son, Matthew Stasko, is also a key player on the leadership team as the Corporate Chef & Field Trainer. He focuses on menu development, kitchen efficiency and certified training programs. 

Finally, daughter Maria Swallie has helped advance the company since day one, not only as the youngest director, but as a key brand developer, nutritionist, menu ideation board member and Catering Director. She is currently the Director of Off-Premise Business Development for Sunny Street Cafe.

“Our founder always wanted this to be a family business, which really aligns with the breakfast-lunch lifestyle,” said Moffitt. “That is the message we really want prospective franchisees to understand — this is an opportunity to join an established family and build generational wealth for your family by serving other families in your neighborhood.”

Despite starting just one year before the 2008 recession, Sunny Street Café has continued to grow year after year over the past decade-and-a-half. “There is a recession-resistance to this business — when the recession hit, we had to take a step back and really concentrate on optimizing our operations,” said Moffitt. “The Staskos were walking in their franchisees’ shoes, they had skin in the game. Now, franchisees are making more money because we faced hardships early on as we were trying to grow.” 

Today, Sunny Street Café has locations throughout Ohio, Texas, Missouri, Illinois and Alabama, including 10 corporate-owned and 13 franchise-owned restaurants. 

How Sunny Street Café Stands Out with Lower Start-Up Costs, Flexible Hours, Employee Retention and More

Over the years, the Sunny Street Café team has aimed to perfect the breakfast/lunch business model, offering operators attractive hours of 6:30AM to 2:30PM, flexible lifestyle benefits, a simplified business model and a low-risk, high-reward opportunity. But that doesn’t mean the company has rested on its laurels — the team continues to innovate and find ways to position restaurants for greater success. 

During COVID, for example, Sunny Street Café trimmed some of the fat off its menu, eliminating items with extra ingredients or those that hampered back of house operations. This not only resulted in a much more functional menu, Moffitt says, but also allowed the brand to lower food costs. 

“In terms of controllable expenses, like food and labor costs, we are extremely competitive,” said Moffitt. “Our cost of entry is gentler than competitors in terms of the franchise fee and the cost of build out.” 

The total investment necessary to start a Sunny Street Café franchise comes in at $598,000 to $956,000, with a franchise fee of $35,000. This is much lower than the costs associated with other restaurant chains, which can easily run into millions of dollars. 

For this initial investment, Sunny Street Café franchisees can enter the $11.5 billion breakfast category with a consumer offering that stands out from the crowd. “We focus on homestyle American fare with a twist — options that are elevated past something consumers could make in their own kitchen,” said Moffitt. “It is comfort food. These are the items people crave — eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes — along with some unexpected twists. Breakfast is how you start your day, and our whole mission is about making those days better. If we do that right, we will always have repeat customers coming back day after day.”

Perhaps just as important as the food is the atmosphere of the restaurants and the customer service offered. Since the breakfast category is full of so many regulars, Moffitt says that excellent customer service, and therefore excellent employee retention, are essential. 

“This is a family-owned business with a great culture,” said Moffitt. “We have some employees celebrating their 15-year anniversary with us. That doesn’t happen by accident. As owners, we’re passionate about what we do, and we want that passion to trickle down to our staff. It is a fun, positive work environment where everyone from dishwashers to servers can enjoy the lifestyle, have time to pick up the kids from school and work their way up the ladder.”

These kinds of differentiators have helped the company see back-to-back record-breaking sales years in 2021 and 2022. “Those sales numbers are a lot more than just rising food costs,” said Moffitt. “Our restaurants do 50% of their business on the weekends and our average table time is around 42 minutes. That means you can really cater to that weekend brunch crowd.”

When it comes to franchisee support, the Sunny Street Café team is there to walk incoming owners through real estate and construction, marketing and grand opening, training and staffing process, operations and technology — everything associated with the business. For example, incoming owner-operators and general managers go through an eight week training program, which includes two-to-three weeks of training prior to opening and two-to-three weeks of in-store support from the corporate team. 

Why Now Is the Time to Invest in Sunny Street Café

Looking ahead, Sunny Street Café aims to sell two to three franchise agreements in 2023, targeting southern U.S. markets like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. The ideal franchisee could be a single-unit or multi-unit owner, and while they don’t need restaurant experience, the key is that they understand the importance of the brand’s family-oriented culture. 

“This is a family business, so our vision is about opening restaurants that are successful, creating jobs and building regular places so local communities have a second home,” said Moffitt. “We want franchisees who really lean into that people-first mentality and who want to build restaurants that provide great food at a great price with great service.” 

Today, following the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are more eager than ever to enjoy community-driven restaurant experiences and Sunny Street Café is giving franchisees a unique opportunity to cater to that demand with one of the few family-owned-and-operated breakfast franchises in the industry.

“This is a business that allows you to create something that you enjoy and can pass on to your family to create wealth,” said Moffitt. “The breakfast and lunch segment is continuing to grow but the segment is very underserved, with legacy all-day breakfast chains losing their luster. This is a young, emerging concept that gives you ease of entry and an opportunity to be a successfully independent entrepreneur by getting in now at the ground floor.” 

The total investment necessary to start a Sunny Street Café franchise comes in at $464,545-$1,307,514, with a franchise fee of $35,000. For more information, visit: https://www.sunnystreetCafé.com/franchise/