“Our food is highly differentiated,” he says. Birzon thinks Snooze has knocked that target out of the park. As more concepts centered around breakfast and brunch open in both the full-service and fast-casual spaces, brands have to do something to differentiate themselves. The nature of Snooze’s growth strategy comes from the competitiveness of the breakfast/brunch segment. From a competitive standpoint, we want to be the place where people go to breakfast and the first thing they think about it when it comes to breakfast.” “In Texas, we had nothing there three years ago and we just opened No. “When we go into markets our strategy is we need to own those markets,” he says. Birzon wants Snooze to take over each area it enters.

In the Charlotte market, two additional locations are opening over the next year. We've got 13 deals teed up for next year, and I think that that's really probably the most we will do.” We’re on pace to basically build one a month. “But this is really the culmination of six years of foundation building so we could get to this run rate of roughly 12 per year.

“We happen to be in an industry where not a lot of concepts are growing aggressively right now,” he says. Some might call Snooze’s expansion plan aggressive, Birzon says, but that growth pace didn’t happen overnight. Snooze will open in Kansas City later this year and the company has also inked a deal in Atlanta for a location to open in 2020. And we thought we could play a pretty big part in that.” “It’s ever-developing and new restaurants are opening up all the time. “There's kind of an up-and-coming food scene there today,” Birzon says. There is construction, an influx of young people, and new tech being infused into the city, which makes it an attractive market. “So that's kind of how we celebrate that externally.”Īs the Denver-based breakfast company begins its East Coast takeover-the first Eastern location will open this June in Charlotte, North Carolina-Birzon believes he will be able to continue Snooze’s mission.Ĭharlotte as a city is a lot like Denver, Birzon says. “We plant one for every employee,” Birzon says. Over the past five years, nearly 5,000 trees have been planted and, this year, Snooze plans on planting 2,100 more. Trees are planted on the Guatemalan farm where Snooze sources its coffee beans. The last part of community outreach-and a celebration of the company’s growth-happens each year on Earth Day. “People really do care about these things and they want to belong and believe in something bigger than themselves,” Birzon says. This strategy has led to higher retention rates and higher interest, as well as more applications, Birzon says, when Snooze hits a new market. “It's really important that they're working for something bigger than themselves and being able to volunteer, being able to have a choice in the charity to which we're donating or they're donating not just money, but their time and being involved is pretty important.” “The millennials that make up the majority of our workforce, they care about more than just a paycheck,” he says. On April 11, Snooze employees went out and volunteered.īirzon has found that new employees-especially millennials-want their jobs to have purpose. Snooze’s annual pancake day took place a few weeks ago and the company raised $47,000 in a single day for community gardens. The community gardens program, for instance, allows employees to get involved and donate their time instead of just money. It’s one thing to write a check to a charity, he says, it’s another to have a tangible volunteering program where employees can make an actionable difference. Things like composting and recycling, and alternative modes of transportation, such as riding a bike instead of driving to work.īirzon wants employees to take what they’ve learned at the restaurant and bring it into the communities where Snooze opens. Through the “12 Months of Green” program, Snooze employees are exposed to sustainable in-house practices they can bring into their everyday life. “We're joining and giving back to our neighbors.

“We’re not just opening [restaurants,” Birzon says. The company motto, “Breakfast, but different” touches all aspects of the brand, from food and service to sustainability. Snooze’s connection to customers extends beyond the four walls of its restaurants. When we go into communities we’re not opening a restaurant in the community. “We realize that we are a chain, but the best compliment we can ever get is when people are surprised to find out that an individual Snooze is not the only one in existence. The biggest endorsement the brand receives, he says, is when guests realize it’s actually part of a bigger brand. Eatery opens in a new market, CEO David Birzon wants the restaurant to become a part of the community’s fabric instead of just another breakfast chain.

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