How Huckleberry's Franchisees Win Big with New Menu Ideas and Zero Extra Fees

Bananas Foster French Toast earned its place on the Huckleberry’s Breakfast & Lunch menu the same way a restaurant earns loyal regulars: Guests wanted more.

Introduced as a limited-time offering, the thick-sliced French toast topped with sautéed bananas and toasted pecans proved so popular it became a permanent addition.

For Huckleberry’s franchisees, each new dish or seasonal offering is something fresh to promote, and with no marketing fee, the money to advertise it can stay close to home.

“Breakfast is a neighborhood business,” says Reem Fahoum, Vice President of Marketing and Franchising for Heritage Restaurant Brands, Huckleberry’s parent company, “and a national ad fund wouldn’t move the needle in all markets the way a local sponsorship or a smart Google presence does. So we kept it simple: one royalty, no stacked fees, and the operator keeps control of their marketing dollars!”

One Royalty, Plenty of Support

Huckleberry’s built its model so marketing money stays with the operators who know their neighborhoods best, starting with the fee structure. Franchisees pay a 6% royalty. There’s no marketing fee, no technology fee, and no administrative fee. Fahoum says it has been that way since day one.

Before a restaurant opens, Huckleberry’s develops a grand-opening plan that can include radio, street teams, influencers, local press, delivery-platform launches, and community outreach. Franchisees receive the creative materials to carry it out.

“We don’t hand anyone a logo file and wish them luck,” Fahoum says.

For operators balancing staffing, service and daily operations, that support means fewer marketing tasks to handle themselves. The corporate team manages the brand’s social channels and email clubs, creates print and digital materials, and runs LTO campaigns on their behalf.

The brand also works with franchisees on market-specific media buys and partners with agencies on search and digital marketing.

“The goal is that an operator can walk into a new market with a real plan, not a guess,” Fahoum says.

Fahoum points to the Community Representative Program as a key part of Huckleberry’s local marketing support. The playbook guides franchisees’ outreach to schools, sports teams, businesses and nonprofits.

“They get the tools and the structure, the relationships are theirs to build,” Fahoum says.

Innovative Offerings, Built-In Promotions

Huckleberry’s pairs Louisiana-style comfort food with a California twist, from Mardi Gras Beignets and Fried Green Tomatoes to Stacked Chicken & Waffles, Louisiana Catfish and Shrimp & Catfish Po’Boys. A weeping willow, firefly lighting and Zydeco music carries the bayou theme into the dining room.

Chief Operating Officer David Glennon leads menu development for the brand. New entrees are made and tested in a franchise location, where the team reviews them together. A culinary advisory board of franchisees also contributes input. The brand typically introduces five or six LTOs a year, with marketing materials and digital campaign support provided for each promotion.

Home for Dinner Every Night

Founded in 2008, Huckleberry’s operates in California, Nevada, Oregon and Texas. Restaurants serve guests from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., a single-shift model that gives owners their evenings back.

Heritage Restaurant Brands, based in San Luis Obispo, California, also franchises Perko’s Café Grill and Press Quesadilla Grill. Support for Huckleberry’s franchisees extends to site selection, restaurant design, training, purchasing, technology and operational reviews.

“All of it comes back to the same idea: make it easy, so our franchisees can concentrate on their guests and their staff,” Fahoum says.

Franchise partners who value hospitality and a differentiated guest experience can learn more at huckleberrys.com/franchising.

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Huckleberry's Breakfast & Lunch
A breakfast & lunch franchise that gets you home for dinner every night. Learn More