Unique Food Concept Expands Footprint in North Texas

Kolache Factory Opens Third Location in Dallas-Fort Worth Market

Plano, Texas) – With breakfast growing as a booming daypart in the restaurant industry, Kolache Factory, a unique national pastry franchise, is expanding with its fourth bakery-cafe’ in North Texas. The new store, owned by Texas businessman Peter Kang, has opened on 2129 W. Parker Road, Suite 306, Plano, TX 75023. This is Kang’s third Kolache Factory in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

“I’m from Houston, and one day when my wife brought home kolaches for the first time I was amazed by how delicious they are,” says Kang, who moved to the Dallas area in 2011 to open his first Kolache Factory location, also in Plano, located at 1217 Coit Road. “I saw a great future for kolaches in all of Texas. This is so different from McDonald’s or Burger King — which people are tired of eating. Our kolaches are an easy grab-n-go breakfast that’s a satisfying alternative to everything out there.”

Kolache Craze! What’s a Kolache?

Served at breakfast and lunch, kolaches are homemade, handcrafted pastries, stuffed with the finest fruits, meats and cheeses. They’re famous in Texas — the Kolache Factory started in Houston — after settlers from the Czech Republic brought the European delicacy to the states in the 1850s. With more busy Americans eating on the go, kolaches offer a nutritious, freshly-baked alternative to the typical breakfast sandwich bought on the run. Their freshly-baked popularity is growing Texas-wide and nationwide as local business people like Kang buy in to taste the sweet — and savory — success. “Our kolaches are made from scratch from fresh dough and they’re a great breakfast for busy families on the go,” says Kang. “My other stores are doing so well and kolaches keep growing in popularity. There’s a big momentum building and a growing cult fan base. I opened a third store, so more people could share in the taste sensation that’s sweeping North Texas.” Prior to purchasing his first Kolache Factory, Kang spent 15 years as a sales and marketing manager for Marriot and Hilton hotels in the Houston area.

Kang opened his first Kolache Factory six years ago, also in Plano, and has the same manager now running all three of his North Texas stores. His second Kolache Factory is located at 5995 Preston Road in Frisco. Now his third store has opened in the growing suburb of Plano. Another local businessman, David Stephenson, owns a fourth store in the market in Murphy, Texas. He plans to open his second store, the fifth in the North Texas area, later this year.

Kang’s newest location in Plano is a spacious 2,200 square foot bakery-café, meeting customers’ needs for fresh products and quick service with call-ahead ordering and online ordering and a full-service coffee bar. With the rising trend of eating breakfast out, Kang believes the Kolache Factory will become North Texans’ go-to spot for breakfast/lunch lounging and get-togethers with friends, family and work associates. He will also start catering and plans are in the works to deliver kolaches to homes, schools and businesses. The bakery-café is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m.–2 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Customers can order ahead at KolacheFactoryToGo.com.

History of Kolaches

The kolache was born centuries ago in the Czech Republic when a young girl nabbed some dough from her mom who was baking bread. She added plums and tossed it in the oven and — voilà! Her father grabbed it for a snack, took a bite, and the toasty-hot plum juice surprised him, making him circle like a wheel in delight — and some pain! And so, the kolache was named — from the Czech word “kola” which means wheel. The family turned the savory magic into a staple, and a legendary treat throughout Eastern Europe. In the 1850s, when Czech settlers arrived in Texas seeking opportunity, they brought the tasty treat with them. By the late 1900s, these settlers held yearly celebrations to honor their Czech culture and their favorite treat — the kolache.

The Breakfast Favorite of the Lone Star State

Kolaches are as Texan as barbecue, but John and Jerri Banks wanted the rest of the country to enjoy the treats in an environment with the charm and warmth of the old world. They opened the first Kolache Factory in Houston in 1982 and today the corporation has grown to 26 company-owned stores, and 31 franchised stores.

“We are excited to have Peter Kang expand in North Texas with another store because he is a great evangelist for the brand,” says Kolache Factory President and co-founder John Banks. “The fast-paced lifestyle and the expanding economy in the Plano area makes this the perfect recipe for a successful franchise and extension of our brand.”

Each morning, Kolache Factory’s dedicated chefs bake all the kolaches on-site with a caring devotion to quality and freshness, serving up warm baked goods with a unique variety of nutritional, heart-warming ingredients. Because kolaches are self-contained and truly neat to eat, they can be consumed anywhere- from the car, to the office, to the baseball field. Along with kolaches, croissants, cinnamon rolls and strudel niks are offered at many locations.

About the Kolache Factory

Kolache Factory was founded in 1982 in Houston, Texas, by John and Jerri Banks, who identified a need for a fresh, high-quality breakfast that could be eaten “on the run.” The Banks encouraged consumers to try the high-quality, fresh pastries filled with fruits, meat and cheeses and soon they were in high demand for business meetings, family breakfasts, on-the-go lunches and afternoon snacks. Kolache Factory has been recognized as one of the Top 5 Drive-thrus in America by Food Network, one of the fastest growing companies in Houston and one of the top 50 food service bakeries in the United States by Modern Baking magazine. In addition, Franchise Times magazine recently named Kolache Factory one of the 300 biggest brands in franchising by worldwide sales in 2017. In addition, Entrepreneur magazine named it among the top 200 food-based franchises in 2017. Kolache Factory is privately owned and operated and headquartered in Katy, Texas. For more information please visit www.kolachefactory.com.