About Armon Hayes

See & Be Kitchen, the beloved Catskills bakery known for its long-fermented sourdough, handcrafted pastries, and joyful, people-first culture, announces the launch of the First Rise Challenge, an uplifting eight-week regional competition to select the brand’s founding franchisee. Kicking off January 1, 2026, the challenge marks a major milestone as the company prepares to expand its community-centered bakery model across the Northeast. More than a competition, the First Rise Challenge is an invitation, an ‘apprenticeship to ownership’ journey that celebrates heart, craft, and the magic of feeding a community. Guided by the tagline, “Be our first. Bake the future,” the campaign calls on aspiring cottage bakery owners, operators, and investors to rise to a series of creative, community-driven, and operational challenges that mirror the real experience of running a See & Be Kitchen bakery.

“We’re not just searching for a business owner. We’re searching for a partner who believes in people, craft, and community as fiercely as we do,” said See & Be Kitchen founder Chrissy Traore. “This first franchise will help shape the heart of our brand’s future. We want someone who rises with purpose, leading with skill and soul.” The First Rise Challenge is rooted in See & Be Kitchen’s foundational belief that a truly great bakery is built on integrity, joy, curiosity, teamwork, generosity, and a deep love of nourishing people. Over the course of eight themed weeks, challengers will share their stories, stretch their creativity, deepen their craft instincts, and show whether they have the heart and leadership potential to open the very first See & Be Kitchen franchise.

During Week 1, “Call to Rise,” candidates submit a 90-second video sharing their “why,” their ideal territory, and their passion for bringing See & Be Kitchen to their community. Weeks 2–3, “Gathering Ingredients,” focus on culture and character fit through self-shot video content and interactive Zoom sessions that highlight each candidate’s values, leadership style, humor, kindness, resilience, and alignment with the company’s artisan ethos. In Week 4, “Rise Under Pressure,” contestants complete system-following tasks that test precision, problem-solving, and the ability to trust a process, an essential ingredient in any great bakery and any scalable franchise model. Week 5, “Firing Up the Ovens,” blends baking theory, hands-on skill, and teaching ability to demonstrate whether challengers understand the craft deeply enough to lead with consistency and care. During Week 6, “Setting the Table,” participants host a local community activation event, giving neighbors a taste of the See & Be Kitchen experience and showcasing each contender’s ability to create warmth, welcome guests, and build local excitement. Week 7, “Making That Bread,” assesses financial readiness through workshops and quizzes centered on KPIs, budgeting, cash flow and franchise sustainability. To support the winner, See and Be Kitchen is setting up partners with access to financial capital to help fund. Finally, Week 8, “The Final Bake-Off,” invites the top three to five challengers to present their polished 90-day launch plan to an expert panel that includes Richard Snow, IFA Board Member and CEO of Amplify Franchise Funding; Karen Bornath, Executive Director of the Bread Bakers Guild of America; Mariyam Shamshidova, Chief Growth Officer of WeFranch; and Chrissy and Ben Traore, Co-Founders of See & Be Kitchen.

The See & Be Kitchen franchise program is built for entrepreneurs seeking a systems-supported, operations-driven model with creative soul. Rooted in long-fermentation baking and meticulous craft, the franchise provides a fully developed operational playbook, standardized recipes, a premium artisan product line designed for scalability, and a people-first leadership philosophy that shapes hiring, training, and team care. Franchisees benefit from a strong wholesale backbone with flexible retail and catering revenue streams, community-focused brand identity, and hands-on franchisor support, including: marketing, communications, tech stack, CRM, operations and ongoing training. The founding franchisee will receive exclusive incentives valued at up to $100,000, including a 50% reduction in the franchise fee, one year of waived royalties, and an initial packaging order at no cost.

Eighteen territories across the Northeast are prioritized for this first expansion wave, with high-interest regions including the Capital Region & Albany; Oneonta & Delhi; New Paltz & Newburgh; and the Berkshire Mountains. Applications for the First Rise Challenge are now open, and interested candidates can learn more or begin their journey at franchise.seeandbekitchen.com.

To learn more about See & Be Kitchen visit https://www.seeandbekitchen.com/, and for more info on the First Rise Challenge, visit https://franchise.seeandbekitchen.com/.