Food for thought: 29 affordable food franchises - Directory

Entrepreneur, May, 1996

29 affordable food franchises

Hamburgers dripping with special sauce, chickens sizzling on the grill, soft pretzels pulled hot from the oven . . . entrepreneurs have been salivating over food franchises ever since Ray Kroc turned McDonald's into one of America's tastiest symbols of success.

Yet the buzz in the franchise community is that food franchising has morphed from the ultimate field for pioneers into the ultimate old boys' club, excluding most folks from the proverbial pot of gold. In reality, food franchising has not only been hot, it's still hot, and will probably continue to be hot long after we're gone.

"Food franchises are certainly in a leadership position in the franchising industry, and I doubt [they] will ever be eclipsed," says Jerry Wilkerson, president and founder of Franchise Recruiters Ltd. in Village of Crete, Illinois. "The food sector will keep skyrocketing because it lends itself so easily to the franchise business. It's easy to duplicate, benefits from volume purchasing, capitalizes on national advertising and meets the need for people to eat."

Roughly 31 percent of franchisors in Entrepreneur's most recent Franchise 500 listing were in the food-service sector. According to Francorp Inc., an Olympia Fields, Illinois, management consulting firm specializing in franchising, 37 percent of franchise sales in any given year come from food-service franchises, while 39 percent of all franchisees are in food service. New food franchises account for 30 percent to 35 percent of overall growth in franchising, according to Mark Siebert, president of Fran-corp, who adds, "While the preferences for individual food franchises shift significantly [each] year, the overall popularity of the segment seems fairly strong and stable."

As yesterday's hot trends become today's franchise staples (think frozen yogurt shops), new success stories come along to take their places (think Boston Market). And there are always new markets to watch and new trends ahead (try locations in small towns). The overriding trend of the mid- "90's , however, has been charmingly untrendy. Recently, the franchised food industry stripped itself of frills and returned to the qualities that made it America's sweetheart in the first place: fast, cheap food.

"Fast food became slow and expensive," Wilkerson says. "[Franchisors] finally realized the problem, which is why we're seeing so much advertising about value meals."

Indeed, value is making a splash in food franchising in more ways than one. In the following pages, we spotlight 29 food franchises you can get into for just $50,000 or less. Some of the companies listed offer financing; others offer special discount programs; still others are simply low-priced. Whatever the reason, we think you'll agree: These could be the best meal deals you'll ever see.

BAHAMA BUCK'S ORIGINAL SHAVED ICE CO. 1741 W. University, #148 Tempe, AZ 85281 (602)894-4408 Shaved ice Yr. began: 1989/Yr. franchising: 1992 No. of franchises: 1 No. of co.-owned: 2 Total investment: $45K-115K 3rd party financing

BAKER'S DOZEN DONUTS CORP. 1224 Dundas St. E., #14 Mississauga, ON, Can. L4Y 4A2 (905)272-1825 Baked goods, light lunches Yr. began: 1977/Yr. franchising: 1984 No. of franchises: 109 No. of co.-owned: 0 Total investment: $60K+ Minimum cash req'd. for start-up: $30K 3rd party financing

BORVIN BEVERAGE 1022 King St. Alexandria, VA 22314 (703)683-9463 Wholesale wines/distribution Yr. began: 1993/Yr. franchising: 1994 No. of franchises: 1 No. of co.-owned: 3 Total investment: $62.75K Minimum cash req'd. for start-up: $30K Franchise fee financing

CANDY BOUQUET 5909 R St. Little Rock, AR 72207 (501)666-4770 Candy bouquets Yr. began: 1989/Yr. franchising: 1993 No. of franchises: 70 No. of co.-owned: 1 Total investment: $5.5K-23K Inventory financing CHICO'S TACOS P.O. Box 890144 Temecula, CA 92589-0144 (800)772-4426/(909)699-5368 Mexican fast food Yr. began: 1988/Yr. franchising: 1993 No. of franchises: 5 No. of co.-owned: 1 Total investment: $175K-525K Minimum cash req'd. for start-up: $50K 3rd party financing

COOKIE BOUQUET/COOKIES BY DESIGN 6757 Arapaho Rd., #795 Dallas, TX 75248 (800)945-2665/(214)239-7474 Cookie bouquets Yr. began: 1983/Yr. franchising: 1987 No. of franchises: 113 No. of co.-owned: 1 Total investment: $46.1K-107.5K

COOKIES IN BLOOM 5429 N. MacArthur Blvd. Irving, TX 75038 (214)518-1749 Cookie gift baskets Yr. began: 1988 Yr. franchising: 1992 No. of franchises: 6 No. of co.-owned: 0 Total investment: $39.5K-66K

FOX'S PIZZA DEN 3243 Old Frankstown Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15239 (412)733-7888 Pizza & sandwich shops Yr. began: 1971 Yr. franchising: 1974 No. of franchises: 158 No. of co.-owned: 0 Total investment: $48K-68K

ICE CREAM CHURN P.O. Box 1569 Byron, GA 31008 (912)956-5880 Dip ice cream parlor & frozen yogurt Yr. began: 1973 Yr. franchising: 1978 No. of franchises: 462 No. of co.-owned: 0 Total investment: $15K-30K Equipment/3rd party financing

L.A. SMOOTHIE FRANCHISES INC. 3001 Division St., #140 Metairie, LA 70002 (800)643-3910/(504)455-5845 Smoothies, health foods, activewear Yr. began: 1991/Yr. franchising: 1992 No. of franchises: 17 No. of co.-owned: 0 Total investment: $28.9K-97.5K 3rd party financing