The morning rush at Jeff’s Bagel Run locations has become a familiar sight across Central Florida—queues of loyal customers waiting for hand-rolled, New York-style bagels that sell out most days before noon. Behind this rapidly expanding bagel empire stands Justin Trouard, who approached the bagel business with the same methodical strategy he used to build uBreakiFix, a tech repair chain that grew to over 700 locations before being acquired by Asurion in 2019.
“The fundamentals of scaling remain remarkably consistent across industries,” Trouard explained during our conversation at his Winter Park flagship store. “Whether you’re fixing phones or boiling bagels, success comes down to systematizing operations while maintaining quality.“
Trouard co-founded Jeff’s Bagel Run in 2019 with longtime friend David Weekley as a weekend hobby—a sharp departure from the tech world where both had built their careers. What began as a modest operation producing 100 bagels weekly from a commissary kitchen has transformed into eight locations with plans for 25 shops by 2025.
Federal Reserve data shows small business formation reaching record levels post-pandemic, with food service establishments representing a significant portion of these new ventures. However, the restaurant industry’s notoriously high failure rate—approximately 60% of restaurants close within their first year according to the National Restaurant Association—makes Trouard’s rapid expansion particularly notable.
“Most restaurant owners are passionate about food but struggle with scalable systems,” says Dr. Melissa Chen, professor of entrepreneurship at Cornell University. “Trouard’s background gives him a distinct advantage—he’s approaching bagel-making with an engineer’s precision.“
That precision is evident in the company’s operations. Each Jeff’s Bagel Run location uses custom-designed workflow systems that track everything from dough consistency to customer wait times. While traditional bagel shops might rely on intuition, Trouard’s team leverages data analytics to optimize production schedules based on historical sales patterns.
“We’re constantly A/B testing,” Trouard admits. “Last month we adjusted our proofing time by seven minutes based on customer feedback data, resulting in a 4% increase in same-store sales.”
The approach mirrors strategies employed by tech startups. Rather than expanding blindly, Trouard established a central commissary that supplies partially prepared dough to satellite locations, ensuring consistency while allowing for rapid scaling. This hub-and-spoke model, commonly used in software deployment, has enabled the company to maintain quality control despite adding new locations every quarter.
Financial Times reports that food businesses adopting tech-inspired growth models are securing venture funding at unprecedented rates. Jeff’s Bagel Run recently closed a $3.7 million Series A round led by Embark Ventures, a firm typically focused on technology investments.
“We’re seeing a blurring of lines between traditional industry categories,” notes Michael Caraway, managing partner at Embark. “Trouard isn’t running a bagel shop—he’s building a technology-enabled food platform that happens to make excellent bagels.“
The infusion of capital is financing an ambitious expansion strategy including a proprietary mobile ordering system and kitchen automation tools designed to reduce labor costs while maintaining craftsmanship. Bloomberg data indicates food establishments implementing similar technology solutions report 23% higher profit margins than industry averages.
Employee training represents another area where Trouard’s tech background influences operations. New staff members complete a rigorous onboarding program modeled after software development bootcamps, with digital progress tracking and skill certification requirements before handling any aspect of production.
“In the tech repair business, we learned that consistent training creates consistent outcomes,” Trouard explains. “We’ve built a learning management system for bagel-making that would look familiar to any software company.“
The results speak for themselves. While the average food service business struggles to maintain consistent quality beyond two or three locations, Jeff’s Bagel Run has maintained impressive consistency scores across all eight locations according to internal quality audits and customer satisfaction metrics.
Industry analysts have taken notice. “What’s remarkable about Jeff’s Bagel Run isn’t just their growth rate but their customer retention,” observes Sarah Williamson, restaurant industry analyst at Morningstar. “Their 73% return customer rate exceeds fast-casual industry averages by nearly 30 percentage points.”
Trouard acknowledges challenges remain. Supply chain disruptions have occasionally affected ingredient availability, and rising commercial real estate costs threaten expansion plans in certain markets. Yet the company’s data-driven approach helps mitigate these risks through predictive modeling and contingency planning.
Looking ahead, Trouard envisions Jeff’s Bagel Run becoming a national brand within five years. “We’re not trying to be the biggest bagel company—we’re focused on being the most consistent,” he says. “Scale follows quality, not the other way around.“
For entrepreneurs considering similar transitions between industries, Trouard offers straightforward advice: “The principles that drive success don’t change much between sectors. Focus on processes, measure everything, and never compromise on your core product.”
As the morning crowd at his Winter Park location finally begins to thin, Trouard excuses himself to analyze the day’s production data. Even with his business on the rise, this tech entrepreneur turned bagel magnate remains focused on the metrics—proving that sometimes, the secret ingredient to better bagels might just be a spreadsheet.
