'The Meeting of Grains & Brains': Nielsen Farm Family Partners with Grains of Montana Cafe and Bakery Franchise to Launch Fast-Casual Café & Bakery Concept

The Nielsen family, which operates one of America's top-grossing family farms, has partnered with pair of industry leading franchisors to "harvest" Grains of Montana Café & Bakery, a fast-casual Franchise concept featuring gourmet sandwiches, bread, bagels, pizza and bakery items made exclusively with Hard Red Spring Wheat flour sourced directly from the Nielsen farm.

Following hearty sales and favorable consumer response at the first Grains of Montana Café & Bakery in Billings, MT (open since July, 2005), the Nielsens, along with equal partners Gary McGill and Tom Wilscam, announced today they will offer Franchise Opportunities throughout the nation. They say the concept represents a "perfected version" of existing successful concepts in the artisan bread/sandwich category by adding an evening meal component, `All-American' décor, and realistic investment options for prospective franchisees.

"Our superior Hard Red Spring Wheat flour produces great tasting bread products that truly blow away the competition," said Kyle Nielsen, partner of Nielsen Farms and President of Grains of Montana, Inc. "With our exclusive wheat products and Gary and Tom's knowledge of Restaurant Franchising and operation, Grains of Montana has all the makings of a can't-miss franchise opportunity."

While the Nielsens provide the quality Spring Wheat flour for superior menu items from their 15,000-acre farm, equal partners McGill and Wilscam have laid the groundwork for franchising success. McGill, who has consulted for major restaurants internationally, is a former franchisee of three of the largest chains in the United States, at one point a managing owner and partner in 52 restaurants and four concepts.

Wilscam, who owned and operated 27 restaurants nationwide, created a bagel chain that was later acquired by Boston Market and ultimately developed into the Einstein Bagel concept. Last year, the pair successfully launched Juan's Mexicali, a "dual culture" fast-casual franchise that has already opened multiple locations with more in development.

Grains of Montana Café & Bakery offers breakfast, lunch and dinner utilizing a stone hearth oven for the best possible taste. The atmosphere is family-friendly, with a distinctively wholesome theme that celebrates bread and grain, wood tables and chairs, and a hearth fireplace at the centerpiece of the restaurant. Walls are adorned with photos and models of tractors the Nielsen's use on the farm.

A Grainy History
The Nielsen family farm is nothing short of home grown success. The farm was founded in 1965 by Mark and Linda Nielsen. Travis and Kyle Nielsen, brothers, purchased the farm in the mid 1990's from their parents and continue to operate it as a family farm. Since purchasing the farm in the 1990's, the brothers have grown the size of the farm to nearly 15,000 acres. The farm is in the top one percent in gross revenues for family farms according to the latest USDA figures.

Grains of Montana Café & Bakery was founded after Kyle and Travis Nielsen went to McGill and Wilscam looking to open a bagel store using the wheat grown on their family farm. Wilscam and the Nielsen's started thinking big picture. They decided that they could make high quality breads and bakery products from the flour milled from the Nielsen's wheat. They also decided to attack the dinner segment by using the flour to make pizza dough and more creative pizzas than traditional ones, and Grains of Montana Café & Bakery was born.

Every Grains of Montana Café & Bakery will use Nielsen Farms flour that comes directly from the Nielsen family farm. The flour is milled under strict Grains of Montana Café & Bakery specifications and then sent directly to the store, bypassing any middle man. The Nielsen family farm grows the highest quality Hard Red Spring Wheat in the country and the milling process ensures that protein and nutrients stay in the flour, creating wholesome, delicious tasting bread and bakery products.

"Grains of Montana Café & Bakery will be a place where people can relax and enjoy the highest quality breads any time of day," said President of Grains of Montana Franchising, Inc. Gary McGill. "Whether it's morning, noon or night, our guests will be served freshly-baked superior breads, bagels, pizzas and more."

Grains of Montana Café & Bakery also differentiates itself with its cooking methods. Every pizza will be cooked in a stone hearth oven, locking in freshness. They also have perfected a way to grill hamburgers in the stone hearth oven and served on a bun made with Nielsen Farms flour.

The Seeds of Opportunity
"The ideal franchise candidate is someone who has business acumen and will really get behind the concept," McGill said, noting that both multi-unit and single-unit deals are options.

New franchisees for Grains of Montana Café and Bakery pay no royalties for the first six months of operation, an approach that proved successful with the Juan's Mexicali concept. Typical startup costs are approximately $500,000 and include training and support. The average check hovers at $9.00, with seating capacity of 80-100 guests. Grains of Montana Café and Bakery is versatile in that it could be located as a stand alone location, in a strip mall, in rural areas, suburbs and more.

"Grains of Montana Café & Bakery is a place where people can go for a quick breakfast or lunch, or bring the whole family at night when the parents want to relax with a glass or two of wine," McGill said. "The food from the superior wheat is what separates us from everyone else, but the feeling of family and comfort is another reason why people will want to come back."