Mohammed “Moe” Omar plans to open five Toastique locations in Orange County, California.
Mohammed “Moe” Omar is unafraid of judgment. He spoke candidly about his family’s criticism when he opened his own business out of high school and about adding Toastique to his franchise portfolio of Crumbl Cookies and Ace Pickleball locations.
Omar worked in logistics for a few companies after high school. When a friend approached him about opening a Chick-fil-A, he looked at the numbers and was immediately interested.
“I was like, ‘You just got to show up there and manage people?’” Omar said. “So I applied for Chick-fil-A.”
After an eight-month process, Omar ultimately decided to back out of the deal. A clause in the agreement was Chick-fil-A had to be Omar’s primary business. “I couldn’t work with that,” he said, as he was involved in other businesses. Still interested in the restaurant space, he began following successful franchisees on social media. He took their advice to heart as he started his career with Crumbl and Ace Pickleball.
Multi-concept franchisee Mohammed Omar.
This year, Omar signed an agreement with Toastique to open five locations in Orange County, California. Toastique offered the ease of operations and profitability Omar looks for in his franchises. Plus, he sees Founder Brianna O’Keefe as a kindred spirit.
“They’re really genuine people,” said Omar. “They weren’t just business-hungry individuals.”
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O’Keefe and her team don’t accept every possible franchisee, but are instead selective about their choices, which gave Omar confidence in the brand. He didn’t want to be in a brand that would rapidly expand to “be the next Quiznos or Subway,” he explained.
Now with three brands under his wing, Omar delegates in order to succeed. To retain managers, he shares profits and encourages collaboration. In other words, stores don’t compete against each other, but instead work together to meet a regional goal, he said.
“It’s just an overall pot, basically,” said Omar.
Omar plans to open his Toastique locations within the next few years, if all go well.
He admits there’s some uncertainty in California, following results of an adjusted FAST Act. Omar is looking for the best locations possible as well as bracing for the $20 minimum wage for his current franchises. For Toastique to succeed, Omar will work with the brand’s team and use the advantages in Orange County. Still, the plan is to open as soon as the opportunities present themselves, he said.
“There are very good communications between Toastique and its corporate stores,” said Omar. “We all share what we figure out and it’s shared across other franchise systems.”