The all-day breakfast and brunch sector continued its Tennessee expansion on September 7, 2026, as The Flying Biscuit Cafe signed a new franchise agreement for South Nashville with entrepreneur Shreya Patel. The deal deepens the Atlanta-born brand’s footprint in one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing markets, adding to a 2026 development run that has already produced six new franchise territories.
The Flying Biscuit Cafe was founded in Atlanta’s Candler Park neighborhood in 1993 and has grown into one of the Southeast’s most recognizable all-day breakfast brands, with 43 locations open and 11 more in development as of late summer 2026. The franchise brand operates in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and, through a multi-unit agreement announced in 2025, is preparing its first Missouri locations.
The September 7 agreement marks the brand’s second franchise commitment in the Nashville metropolitan area, following an initial agreement earlier in 2026 that marked the chain’s first entry into the city.
A Second Nashville Agreement Targets the South Side of the City
The franchise agreement signed by Shreya Patel covers South Nashville, extending The Flying Biscuit Cafe‘s committed presence in a metro area that had seen no brand activity before Q1 2026. South Nashville has attracted sustained residential and commercial investment over recent years, with mixed-use development and population growth making it an active target for emerging and established restaurant franchises.
No opening date or specific address for the Patel unit was disclosed at the time of the announcement. The Flying Biscuit Cafe format centers on a full-service, dine-in breakfast and brunch experience, which tends to require stronger daytime foot traffic than drive-thru-oriented concepts.
A Year of Consistent Franchise Development at Flying Biscuit
The Nashville agreement is the latest in a sequence of franchise signings that has defined The Flying Biscuit Cafe‘s 2026. In Q1, the brand sold six territories and signed new leases in Atlanta, Raleigh, Orlando, and Knoxville, while entering Abilene, Texas, and Nashville for the first time. A franchise agreement for Magnolia, Texas, followed in August, and a McDonough, Georgia, deal and a Knoxville lease were also executed during the same period.
The St. Louis area agreement, the brand’s first outside the Southeast and Texas corridor, signals an intent to move into markets where the all-day breakfast category has historically been underserved by Southeast-rooted chains. The company had 11 units in development across several states as of late August 2026.
Flying Biscuit Cafe open locations as of late summer 2026, with 11 more in development across the Southeast, Texas, and Missouri. (Source: franchising.com, August 2026)
The All-Day Breakfast Segment in Tennessee
Tennessee has emerged as a competitive arena for the all-day breakfast and brunch category, with Nashville’s population growth attracting both regional and national concepts. The state’s combination of strong brunch culture, a sizable service-sector workforce, and weekend dining demand has made it a recurring target for breakfast-focused franchisors.
The Flying Biscuit Cafe‘s full-service model, which covers breakfast, brunch, and lunch from morning through mid-afternoon, differs from the quick-service breakfast formats associated with legacy fast-food chains. Independent operators and regional brands have historically held a larger share of the segment in Tennessee than in other Southern states, which means that franchise growth in the market often involves competing with established local dining habits rather than just other national chains.
Development Pipeline and Next Steps for the Brand
With agreements now in place across at least eight states and active development in Nashville, St. Louis, Knoxville, Houston, and Atlanta, The Flying Biscuit Cafe is on course to add meaningful unit count before the end of 2026. The timeline from franchise agreement to opening typically spans several months, covering site selection, lease execution, permitting, and build-out.
The Shreya Patel agreement for South Nashville joined a pipeline of signed but not yet opened units, and no projected opening date was part of the September 7 announcement. The company has not publicly disclosed its AUV figures or systemwide sales for 2026.
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