Probably going to keep it private for now.

ok..we understand.


but you could have helped a lot who could have learned from your misstepps.


this is where op needs to man up and dont do thinggs private. unless he is being paid of course......lol.

Funny to read your OP.

I am currently looking into a startup franchise that is rapidly expanding into new areas. They only have a few locations now, but have told me that they have sold over 60 franchises around the country. I am very interested in them and think it could be a hit.

I however do not have experience at all in running a restaurant, let alone a company. I was a business major and am pretty sure I would be able to handle the business side of things along with my father and his partner.

I am just trying to gauge the amount of work that would be needed to make a new franchise very successful. My 2 biggest areas of importance would be Location and Quality of Food. I think if I am able to pick out good locations (I feel very confident in this) and I make sure the quality of food is good comparable to what people would get at a Restaurant, then I think this would be a huge success.

I do not really want to give out the name of the franchise because I think it is still unknown and don't want competition in my area.

I am guessing it would be smart to hire someone with an expertise in the area and have him oversea all operations. Any recommendations?

I need more info to give you a proper response, pm your franchisor & I will take a look at it.

I am currently looking into a startup franchise that is rapidly expanding into new areas. They only have a few locations now, but have told me that they have sold over 60 franchises around the country. I am very interested in them and think it could be a hit.
Can you clarify that they have 60 units under contract to open with > 40 or 50 individual franchise operators or do they have territory agreements or master franchise agreements for up to 60 units by a handful of investors? I would strongly prefer the former over the later. It's not uncommon for franchisors to inflate their unit inventory by including stores that may open. Territory agreements are over valued & don't mean much, unless those agreements are signed with large operators of other chains. For example, an operator of 30 McDonalds franchises signs an agreement for 60 Paneras. Find out what the facts are.

I however do not have experience at all in running a restaurant, let alone a company. I was a business major and am pretty sure I would be able to handle the business side of things along with my father and his partner.
I'm not sure what you mean by "...handle the business side of things". The business is operating a restaurant, it's good that you can handle some basic book keeping, build some useful spreadsheets & maybe have some ideas about marketing, but running a restaurant = the business you are opening.

I am just trying to gauge the amount of work that would be needed to make a new franchise very successful. My 2 biggest areas of importance would be Location and Quality of Food. I think if I am able to pick out good locations (I feel very confident in this) and I make sure the quality of food is good comparable to what people would get at a Restaurant, then I think this would be a huge success.

Lots of work & given no operating experience, ++work ++time as you will likely make some mistakes along the way. Unless you have the financial capacity to build a free standing building on a premier site, I am doubtful of your ability to "pick out good locations". The best locations are pad leases on the front end (near the street) of shopping malls & corners with two way ingress/egress....hard cap corners of strip malls with the correct tenant mix....& then way down the line are the types of locations you will be likely choosing from, aka picking the best from the worst. Not trying to break your confidence, but even the largest operators who have expertise in site selection have to re-locate stores based upon poor performance at a particular location. Focus on picking the right location for your concept & what is right for one concept, may not necessarily work for another. The most common mistake is selecting a drive up site for a concept that desperately needs foot traffic.

I am just trying to gauge the amount of work that would be needed to make a new franchise very successful. My 2 biggest areas of importance would be Location and Quality of Food. I think if I am able to pick out good locations (I feel very confident in this) and I make sure the quality of food is good comparable to what people would get at a Restaurant, then I think this would be a huge success.

I neglected to include that the quality & track record of the franchise you plan on purchasing will play the greatest role in your success or failure. How are you making that determination? Present financial performance of operating units is a good start.

im a bit sad at op.

shouldnt op tell guy with zero experience to get a jobb in restaurant to get experience.

operating a restaurant involves more than cooking a good meal!


just the ? how much work is going to be involved disqualifies Kcannon as a potential success.

part of op credibility would be to tell people FOUGETTABOUTITT!



no offense to anyone but in general anyone asking advice about opening , how to run a business on a poker forum is prolly in over their head.

Do you always pay TI's or do you ever get the landlord to pay? What incentives do you look for in the start up period in terms of either free rent or reduced rent? Do you Pesronally Gurantee (PG) the lease or do you look to put limits on the length of the PG?

Is there a deal you would take at an inferior location if you felt the concept could draw its own traffic if it offered much less risk and lower overhead? Let's say a Landlord would build you out 100% and take 8% of revenue as first year rent with no minimum and a much lower than competing rents thereafter but the center was non anchored with reduced visibility but in a great area over all?

TI (or tenant improvement allowances) are contributions made by the landlord on per sq. ft basis to the build-out. Sometimes they are factored back into the rent & sometimes not. In most all cases you will be required to finance your own build-out, but I always negotiate the maximum TI allowance, even when it will be loaded back into the rent. The result is an interest free loan. Some landlords will be open to it, some not, but simply bringing up TI will suggest to the landlord or the landlords agent that they are negotiating with someone in the know. When the landlord is hesitant, I always pursue a TI allowance that will result in an improvement that leaves some value for the landlord when I am no longer a tenant. Some ideas, improving or installing the HVAC, grease/supression hoods (very costly), adding 3-5 more tons of AC, having the lines scour jetted, panel upgrades,3 phase service, fresh ceiling drop etc....etc.. vs a highly customized floor install or proprietary wall treatments or likewise.

You always want to pursue a lease with no PG, but that is highly dependent on how sophisticated your landlord is & if an agent is involved. The likelihood is that he/she will request a full PG. I highly recommend negotiating towards a partial guarantee or a buyout clause with a fixed $ amount. Obviously, the words personal guarantee should be coming out their mouth's first.

Second part of your question is a very interesting one & highly, highly dependent on the concept & your expertise in the industry. Let me think about it more before responding. Nice post.

How about lets break down these 2:

A subway Franchise owner
An indy (bbq restaurant, italian food, something of that sort)

Could you go over all the average monthly costs each of these would incur in detail?

Also I hear the startup costs for a restaurant are tremendous. Most save a lot of money by moving into places that have shut down hence why you see buffets being replaced by...more buffets. Could you delve a little into the startup costs for those looking into starting up a restaurant?

this is what worries me about the future businessmen here..............lol.

they not doing the bassic research . what makes one confident these guys will make it.

subway says it will cost between $80,000 and 240,000. not hard info to find-just a few clicks here and there.


and then these guys ask such vague questions how can they expect good answers.they might as well ask im gonna open a business how much am i gonna make?

Do you prefer partial gross or triple net leases when looking at new location?

Buddy of mine has some front of house mgt experience and has a dream of opening aplace but no money. How would he best go about getting an appropriate partner and for them to seek money?

Is there a deal you would take at an inferior location if you felt the concept could draw its own traffic if it offered much less risk and lower overhead? Let's say a Landlord would build you out 100% and take 8% of revenue as first year rent with no minimum and a much lower than competing rents thereafter but the center was non anchored with reduced visibility but in a great area over all?

Can you please post the concept (franchisor name is not required yet), sq ft of inferior site, where it is positioned in the mall/plaza & what you estimate the build out to be?

Your buddy needs to attain full p&l responsibility (gm) experience for a few years first.

It depends. Is this a serious question?