New President Joins Sunny Street Cafe

Recharged growth spurs franchise to expand leadership team

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May 12, 2010, 09:00 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunny Street Cafe™, a fast-growing breakfast-lunch chain, is enhancing its leadership team and bringing on a new president with extensive development experience as the franchise readies for the next stage of growth.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100512/CL03332 )

Sunny Street Cafe has named Scott Moffitt as the company's new president. Moffitt has more than 25 years of experience in the food service industry and has held senior level management positions with such nationally recognized brands as Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, CKE Restaurants Inc. and Church's Chicken^®.

"Scott brings a wealth of franchise, real estate and operational experience to support our growing franchise community," said Michael Stasko Sr., Sunny Street Cafe's chairman. "With expansion into Canada pending and multiple U.S. restaurants under construction, Scott will support the chain's new growth and will provide additional resources to deliver on our promise for quality service and support to our franchisees."

Just recently, Sunny Street Cafe signed on three new franchisees in Columbus and Concord, Ohio and Topeka, Kansas. In mid-May, the company will open its first restaurant in northeast Ohio at 7531 Crile Rd., Concord, Ohio. The chain is also currently identifying new locations in its fast-growing Central Ohio and Texas markets. The next Dallas area restaurant will open in August at 231 E. FM 544, Suite 709, Murphy, Texas. In April, the company opened its first free-standing unit with drive-thru in Topeka, Kansas. This restaurant marks the franchise's first unit in the Topeka market.

"The Topeka unit demonstrates Sunny Street Cafe's flexibility and creativity," said Moffitt. "The conversion of a free-standing building with drive-thru is the first of its type for our concept. We are closely monitoring the guest experience at this location to determine if this could be a go-forward, growth concept for us."

During the next several months, the company is launching a new menu to coincide with the re-branding from Rise & Dine Restaurants to Sunny Street Cafe. In addition, select locations are experimenting with an evening day part. The company is also exploring partnerships with other non-competitive, small to mid-size franchise systems to leverage its buying power and to increase profitability for franchisees. Other initiatives include the recent formation of the Columbus, Ohio Advertising Cooperative and a system-wide initiative to grow the chain's catering business.

"We have experienced a rebound in first quarter sales and are exploring new programs to continue the trend," Moffitt said. "Catering is one of our biggest opportunities for growth. It aligns with our core capabilities and creates another line of revenue while staying within our current business model and hours of operation."

About Sunny Street Cafe™

Sunny Street Cafe™ operates 14 franchised locations in Ohio, Kansas, Texas and Missouri. Locations are open daily during morning and lunch hours. Restaurants feature a wide variety of breakfast and lunch fare, including signature dishes such as "big as the plate" Bananas Foster Pancakes, "create your own" Omelette, Stuffed Biscuits and Gravy, Half Pound Black Angus^® Burgers, Monterey Ranch Chicken Wrap, Buffalo Chicken Salad and a quiche of the day. Restaurants also offer take out, catering and special event hosting. Franchise opportunities are currently available for both first-time owners and existing franchise owner/operators and developers. For more information, visit www.sunnystreetcafe.com.