Founding Six — GTA & Southwestern Ontario
Six founding-franchisee territories across the GTA and southwestern Ontario — Brampton, Hamilton, and York Region open now. High-touch support from our leadership team and founding-franchisee benefits.
Franchise with Kanafani · Now Recruiting the Founding Six
An original café. Built ground-up by us.
Speciality coffee paired with Nablus-craft sweets. We design your café to our specification, supply fresh product every morning, run the technology and marketing, and train your team — pre-launch and forever after. You operate the brand.
$125K
Founding-franchisee fee + HST · saves $25KDaily
Fresh product delivered before open2
Proven corporate cafés · GTAAn original category
Speciality coffee in the morning. Nablus-craft sweets in the afternoon. One café.
Most café concepts collapse into a single daypart and watch afternoon traffic die. Kanafani runs two — speciality coffee carrying the morning, Nablus-craft sweets carrying the afternoon, and event & tray orders smoothing the rest. Our two corporate cafés in Ridgeway and Scarborough have proven the model. You inherit the playbook day one — and your café is operated to the same standard, with the same support, as our corporate cafés.
The model
You run hospitality. We run the kitchen.
Every Kanafani receives fresh product every morning from our central commissary. Your team handles the in-store finish — final prep and a final bake that brings every piece to the guest warm and fresh. We handle the recipes, the volume, and the consistency. Every knafeh tastes the same, every café, every day.
The operator package
What we provide. What you operate.
Most franchises sell a brand and leave you to figure out the operations. We build, supply, and run the systems — so you run the café.
01
Site & Build
Territory scouted, lease negotiated, and your café designed to our specification — built by our required contractor under an itemized, capped construction proposal delivered before you sign a lease.
02
Equipment & Fit-Out
Every machine, fridge, and finish sourced and installed. Ready day one.
03
Daily Commissary
Fresh product delivered every morning. Your team handles the in-store finish.
04
Technology
POS, KDS, online ordering, loyalty, payroll, analytics — built in-house, all included.
05
Marketing & Launch
Brand, social, launch campaign, grand-opening field team, seasonal creative.
06
Training & Support
4-week intensive. On-site opening team from 14 days before launch to 14 days after. Quarterly audits. A direct line.
Investment
Transparent figures. Founding-cohort discount.
Final figures vary by location, size, and local market and are disclosed in full in our Franchise Disclosure Document.
$125K
Initial Franchise Fee + HST · Founding Six$595–910K
Estimated Total Investment · before HST$250K
Minimum Liquid CapitalOngoing royalty
Disclosed in our FDD.
Marketing fund
Disclosed in our FDD.
Term
10 years + two 5-year renewals. Your term starts at opening.
Reserve with confidence
A territory is reserved with a $20,000 deposit — fully refundable, without deduction, until you sign a franchise agreement. It cannot bind you.
Founding-franchisee discount: Our first six franchisees receive an initial franchise fee of $125,000 (vs. $150,000 standard). All fees and figures are before HST. The estimated total investment covers a café-format build-out, equipment, opening inventory, working capital, and the founding fee; the technology & security hardware package and lease deposit/pre-opening rent are priced at site selection. A larger flagship format is available, with figures disclosed in our FDD.
Who we select
The ideal Kanafani franchisee
We're not selling franchises. We're selecting operators who will build the brand alongside us.
Operating Experience
Restaurant or hospitality operating experience required for our founding cohort.
Financial Qualifications
Minimum $250K liquid capital, access to debt financing, and a strong credit profile.
Community Connection
An appreciation for our story and craft — and a desire to root the brand in your community.
Hands-On Leadership
Willingness to be actively involved in day-to-day operations. We select hands-on operators, not absentee investors.
Territories
Protected territory. Founding rights.
Every founding franchisee receives a mapped Protected Territory — roughly 60,000–90,000 residents, drawn on census boundaries and attached as a schedule to the agreement — plus a right of first refusal on one adjacent territory and first offer on any additional store inside their own.
Ontario Expansion
Ottawa, Windsor, and additional Ontario markets — opening to franchisees after the founding cohort is established.
Canada-Wide
Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal — multi-province expansion as the system matures.
Application
From inquiry to grand opening
Six deliberate steps — discovery call, FDD review, validation calls, and Discovery Day, with your site approved within six months and doors open within twelve. We walk you through the full path once your inquiry is reviewed.
The program closes at the sixth signed agreement or December 31, 2026 — whichever comes first.
Demand is ahead of supply — letters of intent on file already exceed the six founding territories. Inquiries received now are contacted first if a territory reopens or a future cohort launches.
Questions
Frequently asked
Do I need restaurant experience to become a franchisee?+
For our founding cohort of franchisees across the GTA and southwestern Ontario, restaurant or hospitality operating experience is required. Hands-on experience is what makes our 4-week training program effective and protects every franchisee's investment by ensuring brand consistency.
How long does it take to open a Kanafani franchise?+
From signing the franchise agreement to grand opening, the typical timeline is 6–12 months, depending on site selection, lease negotiations, and construction.
Can I own multiple Kanafani locations?+
Yes. Founding franchisees hold a right of first refusal on one adjacent territory and first offer on any additional store inside their own territory. We encourage multi-unit development for qualified franchisees who demonstrate success with their initial location.
Get in touch
Request franchise information
Takes about 60 seconds. Serious inquiries get a personal reply within four business hours.
Kanafani café-format franchisees typically invest $595K–$910K in total, before HST (including the initial franchise fee — $125K + HST for our Founding Six, $150K standard — plus build-out, equipment, and working capital). We require a minimum of $250K liquid capital and restaurant or hospitality operating experience. We're an original café brand rooted in Levantine tradition — we look for operators who care about our story as much as our numbers. Not every inquiry becomes a franchise, but every serious one gets a personal reply within 4 business hours.
The next move
Bring Kanafani to your community.
Six founding territories, and letters of intent already exceed them — the program closes at the sixth signed agreement or December 31, 2026. Four hours to a personal reply. Twelve months to grand opening.
This page is a summary for discussion only and is not an offer of a franchise; a franchise is offered only by delivery of a franchise disclosure document as required by applicable law.