Franchise and Business Opportunities Articles

    Who wants to own a restaurant?  Do you?

    For those who have known a restaurant owner, you know it’s no small endeavor, especially if the plan is to build it from the ground up.  To make matters worse, the vast majority of new restaurants go under within the first two years of operation.  There are only three things that can increase your odds of achieving culinary survival: the unattainably perfect balance between cost and quality, an act of God, or starting up a restaurant franchise with an already-established name and reputation.
    If the latter sounds like your method of choice, here are some franchise options.

ARBY’S
    (If you don’t know who Arby’s is, you may want to rethink buying into the restaurant business.)
    One of the biggest names in fast food, this 40-year-old, time-tested company specializes in inexpensive roast beef sandwiches for the average Joe.  Joining the 3,500-location-strong chain, franchisees reap the benefits of a fully established name, menu, business model, and advertising system that are ready to be plugged into a new store and start making you money.  If you’re ready to jump into the big leagues, competing with the likes of McDonalds and Burger King, Arby’s is just your kind of business opportunity.

CHARLEY’S GRILLED SUBS
    Born only two decades ago on the Ohio State University campus, Charley’s is a relative newcomer to the fast-food franchise industry.  Now running 300-stores strong internationally—and capable of growing to 3000—Charley’s has claimed a fairly untapped niche market: a more health-conscious class of fast-fooders who appreciate a good grilled sub over a greasy burger.  As for the interested franchisee, things are no less impressive.  Startup cost is low, operation methodology is already fully established, and support is offered for every aspect of a new franchise.  The market is ripe for following Charley.

BONEHEADS GRILLED FISH AND PIRI PIRI CHICKEN
    The name sounds a little odd, yes, but the concept sounds like a restaurant franchise revolution.  Miles removed from every mundane burger joint out there, Boneheads is built upon a whole different menu; chicken and seafood spiced with sauces that are purely South African free the American pallet from the doldrums of beef patties.  The business is just starting to boom (10 current locations with 30 more in the works), and a franchisee with a mind for adventurous food, adventurous business, and ground-floor potential need look no further.

FUNARI’S ITALIAN CREAMERY
    If full meals aren’t quite your slice of pie, perhaps you should try your hand at the dessert side of restaurant franchises: gelato maybe?  Taking on a Funari’s franchise not only keeps you from the headache of full food-service, but entitles you to secret Funari family gelato recipes hidden for years in an upstairs trunk.  If a family atmosphere, low startup cost, and inclusion in the $21-billion dairy dessert industry sound appealing to you, Funari’s may be the business opportunity for you.

FOODBOX
    This one is the real anomaly of the group, the really brilliant anomaly of the group.  Some of us like the idea of food and like the idea of money but aren’t particularly the idea making food to make money.  What if a franchise existed that put you in the profitable market of food without actually putting you in contact with it?  That is precisely what Foodbox does.  By starting a small business under the Foodbox name, you become the internet-based connection between customers and the local take-out that they want, linking them to burgers, pizza, and Chinese alike.  Everything from software to 24-hour business support is provided at only a fraction of the cost of any ordinary food franchise.

PAPA GINO’S PIZZARIA
    You can’t have a list of restaurant franchises without at least one pizza place, and Gino’s is the one to pick: big enough to have 175 locations spanning the east coast and small enough to expect a doubling in size in the next five years.  That’s the perfect size for a potential franchisee looking to make a mark on a company without risking his shirt to advance an unproven venture.  Granted, startup cost isn’t low right now, but there is plenty of market space left to claim.

BAJA FRESH
    Now sporting hundreds of locations in 12 US states, this 18-year-old company was one of the first to engage the health-conscious but taste-loving among us.  Still today, Baja Fresh delivers the best-tasting, freshest Mexican fast-food you can find and was recently recognized by the Restaurant & Institutions Consumer’s Choice of Chains study as the Platinum award winning Mexican chain.  For the franchisee with a bit more money to spend and a mind for the trendier side of burritos, this recognizable brand is almost guaranteed to start quickly and stay strong.

    Food is a very difficult—and often demoralizing—business to break into, but with the help of one of these franchised companies, you could be well on your way to the financial success you’re looking for.  Who knows, it may even provide you with enough restaurant knowhow to start your own someday—and not go under in two years.