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FRANCHISE RESALES

Buy a Cao Bakery & Cafe Franchise

CAO Bakery & Café is a modern Cuban-American bakery and café concept rooted in South Florida. The name honours the Cao family, whose baking traditions span three generations, and doubles as an acronym for “Cuban American Original.” The brand is known for pastelitos and other traditional Cuban pastries, cafecitos and cortaditos, croquetas, fresh Cuban breads and desserts made from family recipes.

It operates in the fast-casual bakery-café segment, serving dine-in, takeout, delivery and drive-thru customers throughout the day, from early-morning coffee to late-night cravings. The flagship standalone, 24-hour Miami store opened in 2015 and became a local landmark for cafecitos and pastelitos; franchising began in the early 2020s.

The network has grown to roughly 22 locations across South Florida, drawing more than 1.5 million visitors a year, with a stated vision to expand statewide. Franchisees can choose among several formats, including inline retail units, standalone stores, drive-thrus and kiosks for food halls, stadiums and airports.

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Why buy a Cao Bakery & Cafe Franchise?

CAO Bakery & Café offers buyers a differentiated foothold in the fast-casual café segment, built on a recognisable Cuban-American identity and a menu with a genuine local following. Its pastelitos, croquetas and cafecitos have earned a strong reputation across Miami, and the signature “Medio Dia” sandwich gives the brand a distinctive product hook that volume-led competitors lack.

The multi-format model is flexible: an inline unit, standalone store, drive-thru or kiosk can be matched to a given market, and an all-day daypart spread from coffee through late-night service distributes revenue across the trading day. The brand is founder-led by a third-generation baking family, and franchisees gain proven recipes, branded packaging and operating systems without needing prior baking experience.

Cao Bakery & Cafe Franchise Costs & Information

  • Minimum Qualifications

    • Initial Franchise Fee

      $40,000

    • Initial Investment

      $365,800 to $698,000

  • Royalty

    • Royalty Fee

      4-8%

  • Training & Support

    • Comprehensive training

    • Ongoing support

    • Marketing support

Cao Bakery & Cafe – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    CAO provides an initial training programme of approximately five weeks, combining classroom and on-the-job instruction, typically scheduled in the weeks before a store opens. Ongoing support covers operational guidance, round-the-clock access to the management team, marketing and branded packaging, and continued product development drawn from the family's recipes. Because much of the formal programme is geared to new openings, resale buyers should confirm with CAO what transfer training and operating-system access are provided to incoming owners and existing staff when a unit changes hands.

  2. Ideal Owner

    CAO is built for hands-on, owner-operator franchisees rather than absentee investors; the franchisor stresses that a strong owner or management presence on the floor is central to a neighbourhood bakery's success. No baking or retail background is required, as recipes, training and systems are supplied. The model suits people-focused operators who enjoy customer interaction, can manage and motivate café staff across long trading hours, maintain consistent food quality, and engage with the local community to build repeat custom.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    CAO Bakery & Café has built its reputation largely through strong local recognition in the Miami market, where it has been featured among the city's best Cuban restaurants and croqueta spots and named one of "5 Emerging QSR Franchises Poised for Growth" in 2022. Its blend of tradition and a modern café format has drawn comparisons to a "Latin Starbucks," and its signature "Medio Dia" sandwich has been singled out as an award-winning menu item. For resale buyers, brand-level recognition should be weighed alongside the specific territory's local reviews, referral sources and community visibility.

  4. Industry / Market

    Demand for Cuban and broader Latin American food continues to rise in the US, supported by a large, growing Hispanic population and mainstream interest in authentic ethnic cuisine. CAO sits within the US bakery-café and coffee-and-snack-shop category, a segment worth well over $50 billion a year and underpinned by steady all-day demand for coffee, breakfast and grab-and-go items. Bakery-cafés tend to be relatively resilient given lower price points and habitual, repeat-visit customers, though local demand and competition vary sharply by neighbourhood, a key factor for resale buyers.

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