BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 A beloved Lehigh Valley diner concept, known for its fresh and creative dishes for breakfast, brunch and lunch, is expanding operations.<\/p>\n
Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner, a Lehigh Valley favorite since 2000 with locations in Bethlehem and Easton, recently launched a national franchise program and has now signed its first franchisee and regional developer.<\/p>\n
The brand \u2013 with a tagline of \u201cnot your ordinary diner\u201d \u2013 is expanding to Evansville, Indiana with the first franchise sale to Paul and Kelly Snider who owned and operated McDonald\u2019s restaurants in the area for 30 years, according to a news release.<\/p>\n
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The Easton location of Billy’s Downtown Diner operates at 123 S. Third St.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan Kneller<\/p>\n
The Sniders are also the company\u2019s first regional developers with a 10-unit territory that includes Evansville, Indiana and Owensboro and Bowling Green, Kentucky and the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
Several sites are being considered in the Evansville market, and the first location is slated to open this fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very excited about bringing Billy\u2019s Diner to the Evansville community,\u201d the Sniders said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBilly\u2019s Diner will bring a needed fresh and flavorful menu to this area. We can\u2019t wait for people to experience it themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Billy Kounoupis and his wife, Yanna Kounoupis, founded Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner, a 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. diner concept, 25 years ago and have curated a creative menu and large following.<\/p>\n
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Billy’s Downtown Diner<\/p>\n
Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner is known for its \u201celevated diner experience,\u201d with scratch-made cuisine, fresh ingredients and a modern atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Over the past 25 years, the brand has built a loyal following by redefining the breakfast, brunch and lunch experience.<\/p>\n
With responsibly sourced, scratch-made cuisine, the menu spans classic and inventive dishes, including options for vegetarians, vegans and gluten-sensitive individuals with gluten sensitive individuals.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the start, we knew we were building something special,\u201d Billy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we didn\u2019t anticipate was how our love for food, people, and community would guide us on an exciting journey into franchising. We are thrilled to embrace this new chapter and bring Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner to communities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sniders are ideal partners for Billy\u2019s with their multi-unit franchise experience and their operating partner, James Wittman,\u201d added Dr. Ben Litalien, the concept\u2019s chief development officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know the market and how to serve the Evansville community. We look forward to working together with them to establish Billy\u2019s as the \u2018go-to\u2019 place for breakfast, brunch and lunch. As regional developers they will also be recruiting franchisees to own their own Billy\u2019s restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regional developer model is ideal for entrepreneurs who want to rapidly build the Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner brand in a market without the usual capital required by the area developer model.<\/p>\n
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Billy’s Downtown Diner<\/p>\n
Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner is a leading diner concept with its commitment to being a \u201cbeacon of culinary creativity,\u201d the release continues.<\/p>\n
Popular dishes include avocado toast, chicken and waffles, huevos rancheros, Paz\u2019s French Toast (challah bread draped with creamy chocolate hazelnut, strawberries and bananas, and drizzled with chocolate syrup and dusted with powdered sugar), Yanna\u2019s Omelette (farm-fresh eggs mixed with spinach, Spanish onions, diced tomatoes and imported Greek feta cheese; served with classic pappas and buttered Texas toast).<\/p>\n
Other menu highlights include a variety of breakfast sandwiches, salads and lunch handhelds such as a Cubano, house burger and Downtown Wrap (warm flour tortilla filled with twice-dipped buttermilk fried chicken breast, Monterrey Jack and cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, buttermilk ranch dressing and Louisiana hot sauce drizzle).<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery dish tells a story, and every visit feels like coming home,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you\u2019re indulging in a classic favorite or exploring a new flavor sensation, Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner is the place where memories are made and shared.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Billy’s Downtown Diner<\/p>\n
Mike Axiotis, CEO of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands and board chairman of the National Restaurant Association, has experienced Billy\u2019s firsthand.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a customer of Billy\u2019s for two decades, it\u2019s exciting to see Billy bring this beloved concept to a broader audience through a smart and strategic franchise model,\u201d Axiotis said. \u201cHis passion for hospitality and commitment to excellence have always set Billy\u2019s apart, and I have no doubt it will resonate with the Evansville community.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Billy\u2019s Diner offers individual restaurant franchises, the focus of its expansion efforts is with regional developers who acquire a territory of one million or more in population, open a flagship location within that territory, and then develop the territory with additional units they own or with independent franchisees.<\/p>\n
Regional developers are compensated for attracting franchisees and providing support locally to all Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner restaurants within their territory.<\/p>\n
The Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner franchise offers a premium menu offering with a robust operating system.<\/p>\n
Its proprietary reporting and management platform is mobile enabled, and an intensive training system and grand opening and turnkey marketing program \u201ckeeps restaurant development simple,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n
Billy\u2019s Downtown Diners operate in a small footprint with a small number of employees and can efficiently produce significant results.<\/p>\n
Potential franchisees are invited to join the Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner family and contribute to the brand\u2019s legacy of culinary excellence and community engagement.<\/p>\n
For more information about Billy\u2019s Downtown Diner Franchise Program, visit BillysDowntownDinerFranchise.com<\/a> or contact Dr. Ben Litalien, CFE at benl@bddfranchise.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 A beloved Lehigh Valley diner concept, known for its fresh and creative dishes for breakfast,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[92605,153,155,154,92610,92607,92609,37491,10744,92608,92604,32184,92606,92603],"class_list":["post-211125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-ben-litalien","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news","tag-billy","tag-billy-cranston","tag-billy-kounoupis","tag-diner","tag-indiana","tag-james-wittman","tag-kelly-snider","tag-kentucky","tag-mike-axiotis","tag-yanna-kounoupis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}