Holly's Diner

What Holly's Diner does

Holly's Diner is a French fast-casual restaurant chain operating 25 franchised locations across 18+ cities in France, headquartered in Sémoy (Loiret) under the legal entity SARL Holly's Licence. Founded in 2014 in Tours, the chain operates a single American 1950s-60s "Googie" diner concept adapted to French quality standards, offering 20+ made-to-order burger recipes, poke bowls, salads, steaks, fish, American-style desserts (milkshakes, sundaes, pancakes), and a dedicated kids menu. The menu is supported by a 10-year short-circuit French supply chain anchored by farmers, butchers, bakers, ice-cream makers, craft brewers, sauce makers, and a dedicated potato grower (Mathieu).

The business model combines restaurant food and beverage sales, franchise fees and royalties from franchisees (first franchise opened in Bourges in 2015), and a loyalty program (PASS Holly's) that delivers a -10% discount from the second visit and exclusive promotions. The company has expanded service formats beyond dine-in to include drive-thru (first launched in Langueux in 2022) and online ordering with delivery via its own e-commerce storefront at hollysdiner.fr/commander/. Distribution is purely domestic (France), and customer acquisition runs through organic social (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube), content marketing, email, and the loyalty program — no paid acquisition data is disclosed.

The core technology stack is described as standard food-service infrastructure with no proprietary platform, no public API, no mobile app, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities. Corporate scale is reported at 501–1,000 employees (firmographics), though most are franchise-restaurant staff not on the Holly's Licence payroll. Leadership is founder-controlled, with Vincent FREHAUT serving as Directeur de la publication; no external investment, private equity backing, or funding rounds are disclosed.

Name

Holly's Diner

Legal name

SARL Holly's Licence

Website

https://hollysdiner.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Holly's Diner is a French fast-casual franchise chain (SARL Holly's Licence, founded 2014) operating 25 American-style diner restaurants across France, serving burgers, poke bowls, salads, steaks, and desserts to families and individual diners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Farm-to-Table & Contemporary American Restaurants (THAFACAF)

Keywords

• Themed restaurant dining
• Burger restaurant chain
• Franchise restaurant operations
• American diner concept
• Casual dining services

Headquarters

HQ city

Sémoy

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices20 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food Sales: Direct food and beverage sales to consumers at restaurant locations, including dine-in, takeout, and delivery orders.
2. Franchise Fees: Revenue from franchisees who operate Holly's Diner locations under the brand. The first franchised restaurant opened in Bourges in 2015.
3. Loyalty Program: PASS Holly's loyalty program generates repeat customer visits with -10% discount from second visit and exclusive offers throughout the year.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Holly's Diner operates a French chain of themed American-style diner restaurants serving made-to-order burgers (20+ recipes), poke bowls, salads, steaks and fish, American desserts and beverages. The brand also operates a customer loyalty program (PASS Holly's), an online ordering and delivery service, and sells franchise rights to entrepreneurs to expand the network across France.

Product overview

Holly's Diner is a French-American diner restaurant chain offering a diverse menu centered around signature burgers (20+ recipes), poke bowls, salads, steaks, and American-style desserts. The product portfolio is organized as a unified restaurant concept with multiple menu categories (Burgers & Sandwichs, Pokes & Salades, Steakhouse & Fish, Desserts & Glaces, Boissons & Coffee Shop, Starters, Menus), complemented by a loyalty program (PASS Holly's), online ordering service, and a franchise business model. The brand operates 25+ locations across France with a Googie-style 1950s-60s American diner aesthetic, positioning itself as 'authentically American but deliciously French.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Burgers & Sandwichs Signature burger and sandwich menu (more than 20 recipes) including best-sellers (Crispy Cheddar, 330, Big Chief), premium burgers (Canadien, Five Cheese, Triple Smash, Mexico, Holly's, Golden Chicken), regional French-themed burgers, classic burgers (Cheese, Big Cheese, Cheese Bacon, Big Cheese Bacon, Fish, Tooo Chicken), a vegetarian option (Veggy) and hot dogs, all customizable with a vegetable patty or chicken fillet. Targeted at individuals, families and groups visiting Holly's Diner restaurants.
• Poke Bowls & Salads Fresh poke bowls and salads prepared to order, including Poke Bowl Saumon, Poke Bowl Poulet, Poke Bowl Veggie, Bruschetta, Salade Caesar and Salade Cheese Bacon, positioned as healthy, fresh alternatives to burgers for health- and freshness-conscious diners.
• Desserts & Ice Creams American-style desserts including Holly's Ice Cream coupes (Coupe Kinder, Coupe Waffle, Coupe Cake, Dame Blanche, Sundae), milkshakes (strawberry, vanilla, chocolate), pastries (Tiramisu Banoffee, Crème brûlée, Riz au lait, Gâteau de Pancakes, Classic Waffle, Brioche Perdue, Churros, Cheesecake, Pancakes) and USA specials (Cookie, Brookie, Donuts).
• Steakhouse & Fish Steakhouse-style meat dishes and fish options offered as part of the full menu at Holly's Diner locations, broadening the diner experience beyond burgers.
• Beverages & Coffee Shop Beverage and coffee shop offerings, including soft drinks and specialty coffees, complementing the food menu at Holly's Diner restaurants.
• Starters Appetizer and starter items offered at the beginning of the meal at Holly's Diner locations.
• Set Menus Complete meal combinations offered at bundled pricing that include a main, side and beverage, sold as a single meal deal across Holly's Diner locations.
• Kids Menu Children's menu with kid-friendly options and activities, featuring complimentary kids meals on certain days, aimed at families dining at Holly's Diner.
• PASS Holly's Loyalty Program Customer loyalty program offering 10% discount starting from the second visit, with exclusive promotions throughout the year and special birthday rewards for registered diners at Holly's Diner restaurants (excluding online orders and the Arras drive-thru).
• Online Ordering & Delivery Online ordering system accessible via hollysdiner.fr/commander/ that lets customers place pickup, collection or delivery orders from Holly's Diner restaurants.
• Franchise Program Franchise opportunity allowing entrepreneurs to open Holly's Diner locations under the brand, offering an authentically American diner concept adapted for the French market with operational and brand support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 years of operation with 25 restaurants across France

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mathieu (Potato Supplier)coreOthers · 1 January 2014Historical supplier of potatoes for Holly's Diner's homemade fries. 10-year partnership established since the company's founding in 2014. Supplier prioritizes short circuit and French know-how for crispy fries that are crunchy outside and soft inside.
• French FarmerscoreOthersAgricultural partners providing quality produce, part of the 10-year partnership network to ensure local French sourcing for ingredients.
• French ButcherscoreOthersButcher partners supplying quality meat for the restaurant's fresh ground beef patties, maintaining the brand's commitment to French-quality ingredients.
• French BakerscoreOthersBakery partners supplying fresh bread (pain boulanger) for burgers, part of the quality-focused supply chain.
• French Ice Cream MakerscoreOthersArtisanal ice cream partners supplying the restaurant's ice cream, sundaes, and frozen desserts.
• French Craft BrewerscoreOthersArtisanal beer partners supplying craft beers, complementing the American diner experience with local French craft beverages.
• French Sauce MakerscoreOthersSauce partners producing premium Holly's sauces, part of the proprietary recipe partnership for the brand's signature sauces.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Big M: French self-described 'diner' burger chain with a strong value-positioning and dine-in format in France. Closest direct domestic competitor to Holly's Diner given overlapping American diner-style branding, burger-centric menus, and franchised multi-city footprint in France.
• Buffalo Grill: France's largest steakhouse casual-dining chain (~200+ restaurants). Comparable on menu overlap (steakhouse items, American-style grill), family-friendly positioning, and franchise-operated nationwide footprint in France; competes for similar family/group occasions.
• Five Guys: US-origin premium-burger chain operating in France. Comparable premium-burger positioning, customizable menu, dine-in/takeaway format, and urban French locations; competes for higher-spend burger occasions.
• Quick: Leading French burger QSR chain (formerly part of the Quick group, now operated by Bertrand Restauration) with several hundred locations across France. Directly comparable target customer (mass-market French burger diners), similar menu architecture, and overlapping dine-in/takeaway/drive model.

Broad incumbents

• Hippopotamus: French casual-dining steakhouse chain (Bertrand Restauration group). Comparable full-service casual dining model, steakhouse/grill menu, and nationwide French footprint; competes for family group dining occasions and franchise expansion talent.
• Burger King France: Global QSR incumbent with significant French footprint. Comparable burger-centric offering and dine-in/takeaway/drive model; broader global scale and marketing budget, but serves overlapping French mass-market burger demand.
• Courtepaille: French casual-dining grill chain with nationwide footprint and roadside locations. Comparable full-service casual dining with grill/steakhouse menu and roadside/drive access; competes for similar family meal occasions outside major city centers.
• McDonald's France: Dominant French QSR incumbent with the largest restaurant network and drive-thru coverage in France. Comparable on family-friendly positioning, kids menu, digital ordering, and loyalty program (MyMcDonald's Rewards); vastly larger scale but overlapping customer occasions.

Regional players

• Paul: Historic French bakery-cafe chain offering casual dine-in and coffee shop service across France. Comparable on the cafe/coffee-shop daypart, French supply partnerships, and casual family-friendly positioning; an adjacent offering rather than direct burger competitor.

Emerging players

• Big Fernand: French 'premium' burger chain with a smaller but growing footprint. Comparable made-to-order gourmet burgers with French-sourced ingredients and dine-in format; competes directly for the higher-spend burger occasion in France.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@hollysdiner-officiel
• Facebookfacebook.com/hollysdinerOfficiel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hollysdiner
• Instagraminstagram.com/hollys.diner
• TikToktiktok.com/@hollysdiner

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holly's Diner