A new kind of franchise is preparing to make its greater metro Atlanta debut. Sully's Steamers, a steamed bagel sandwich eatery, has signed a franchise agreement to open a new location in Gainesville. The restaurant, at 311 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Suite 103 (Mule Camp Springs), is being opened by husband and wife franchisees Chris and Amy Williams.
Work is expected to start on the space in August with the goal of opening by late fall.
Robert "Sully" Sullivan opened the first Sully's Steamers in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina in March 2013 and opened a second location in Clemson in February 2020. The brand launched franchising in 2021 and has since grown to eleven locations (primarily in North and South Carolina) with a twelfth slated to open Monday, July 29 in Johnson City, Tennessee, where it is replacing a former Which Wich.
Sully's Steamers entered the Georgia market this past February when it opened a franchise in Statesboro not far from the campus of Georgia Southern University.
The restaurant serves more than thirty bagel sandwiches with nearly endless customization options. ToNeTo Atlanta visited the original Greenville location in 2021 at which time we were told that Atlanta-based Masada Bakery was supplying the restaurant's bagels. Today, Sully's gets their bagels from Just Bagels from The Bronx, a New York bagel shop that provides authentic New York bagels for the public and the food-service industry. Just Bagels reportedly created a custom bagel for Sully's to use in their restaurants. The New York bakery produces a fresh-frozen bagel for Sully's that creates efficiency and ensures consistency as the brand grows.
Sully's partnered with Greenville's West End Coffee as its coffee purveyor.
The restaurant typically offers one Limited Time Offer (LTO) per quarter and occasionally does store-specific specials.
Sully's indicated in 2023 that it planned to have at least 50 locations open before the end of the decade. Sully's Steamers is actively seeking owner/operator franchisees to help grow throughout the southeast. Given the color scheme and playful messaging, one cannot help but think of Tom+Chee, a once high-flying Shark Tank success story, but Sully's seems far more measured and methodical in their growth plans.
Josh Riley, Sully's COO, said in a phone call with ToNeTo Atlanta Tuesday that the company is also in discussions with franchisees for locations in downtown Athens, downtown Evans in the greater Augusta area, and the Marietta/Kennesaw area. The downtown Athens location is planned for 255 E. Clayton, previously home to On the Rocks, a local bar and currently home to a temporary leasing center for Rambler Athens, a new student housing development. All of the currently planned Georgia locations should open between the end of this year and the first half of 2025, pending permits and construction.
Most Sully's restaurants are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with those near college campuses typically open for late night dining on Fridays and Saturdays, too.
Have you ever been to Sully's Steamers? Have you ever had a steamed bagel sandwich? Where in Marietta/Kennesaw or elsewhere in metro Atlanta would you like to see Sully's Steamers open?
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