The Latest Franchise News

In yet another first for my writing career, I’m interviewing today Bobby Nugget, the official spokesperson for chicken planks (aka chicken strips, chicken nuggets) who is the first and only food product that I’ve ever conducted an interview with. At least that I’ll admit publicly.

Matt: So Bobby, tell me about this new “Top Chicken Plank USA” contest that you’re promoting.

Bobby: Sure, Matt. What we’re doing is having a beauty contest essentially. We’re looking for the best forum for our show and once we find that we’ll announce a date for the contest.

Matt: What makes a good forum for a good-looking, good tasting chicken plank beauty contest?

Bobby: Well, Matt, it starts with the oil. We’re looking for the best oil in use in a fryer system.

Matt: Does the oil really matter?

Bobby: It matters a lot.

There’s a chef in every restaurant. He’s made a choice of what oils to use in the production of the foods he’s (or she’s) going to use when he prepares your meal.

Frying is one area where oil is used until it gives its last dying breath.

It’s heated to hundreds of degrees and food is dropped into it and pulled out of it time and time again until it can’t yield any more positive benefits.

Use the oil too much and the food cooked in it begins to taste like shoes and gets worse with every extra use.

Matt: I think I’ve experienced what you’re referring to, but I didn’t understand why.

Bobby: Right. Here’s where it gets interesting.

Many franchise restaurant systems face a choice with their frying systems that involves tension between quality and price.

The chef wants to provide pristine food product that has you collecting your friends and relatives and bringing them into his restaurant. So he selects a good oil.

If he uses the oil too little, the restaurant has a cost of operation that is right up there with energy costs. If he uses the oil too much, well, you get the idea. My chicken plank buddies won’t jump into just any oil, Matt. Only the best will do.

Matt: So what to do?

Bobby: There are franchise business systems that revolve around this core need. The oil can be cleaned to extend its usable life.

Cleaning fryer oil makes a restaurant’s cash stretch a little further. That means that the patrons of the restaurant can enjoy a renovation a little more often. The chef can perhaps start buying those really billowy pants you see them wearing with interesting prints on them instead of just plain ones.

Matt: I find it fascinating to learn that there are several different franchises that offer services in this area. How do these work?

Bobby: Right. One franchise system offers a guy in a van to show up at your restaurant on a regular basis to clean your frying oil, then put it back in your holding tanks.

Another franchise offers portable oil-filtering units that can be rented by the restaurant on a monthly basis to purify the oil at the intervals that the chef decides.

Matt: In the scheme of things, this is a very “inside baseball” way to make a living.

Cleaning oil.

Bobby: The palates of busy moms with their mini-vans full of children will never appreciate the oil cleaning franchise owner.

But these very same moms reward the owners and operators of restaurants across the nation with their patronage.

Matt: Thanks, Bobby. Good luck with your “Top Chicken Plank USA” contest.

Do you want to do something that will make moms in mini-vans full of children happy? Take a look at franchises that offer unique methods of filtering cooking oil.

Kids everywhere on their way to and from soccer games will appreciate you, if ever so indirectly.

For many years, the franchising industry experienced tremendous growth. When the recession hit, however, this growth was significantly curbed. While this may sound detrimental, it actually benefits franchisees looking to get into the business, as many brands have begun offering lucrative deals in order to increase their network size.

As Entrepreneur magazine recently explained, when the market is cold, Franchises need to have one of two things: a powerful brand or lucrative sign-up offers. Big brands are attractive because they offer relative stability, while royalty fee discounts and other startup reductions enable franchisees with less capital to open up shop.

“Look for evidence of rapid growth and then burrow down to find the story behind that growth. When you find a company that’s growing rapidly … you’ve got a good target for moving forward and conducting a complete and thorough investigation.” [Read more →]

Fatburger, a California-based fast-food franchise, is looking to focus more on franchise network by selling off several of its corporately owned shops. Fog Cutter Capital Group, the parent company of the brand, announced on Friday that it had sold 25 corporate locations for $7.3 million.

Each of the sold restaurants will remain Fatburgers, however, and were auctioned off to either existing owners or first-time franchisees. The sold shops were located in Southern California and Las Vegas.

“This is worth noting and speaks to the strength of the Fatburger brand” said Andy Wiederhorn, chairman of Fatburger. “It was not a precondition of the sale. Our business has been on the upswing and the results reflect that. Same store sales were up in 2010, our international operations continue to grow and we’ve opened new franchise stores in Southern California and Nevada. [Read more →]

If business owners run a successful company, they may want to consider making a franchise out of it. However, as Business Insider recently suggested, there are several things they need to evaluate about their company before making that jump.

First and foremost, franchises rely on scalable business models that, ideally, could be repeated anywhere to achieve success. Does an entrepreneur have that, or does his or her company have systems in place that will only work at one location? This is a crucial question business owners must answer before pursuing a franchise.

“The ‘franchise my business’ dream just might get you moving on documenting your systems. The immediate reward is better business today, followed by expanded business tomorrow,” notes the source. “Dreaming is free, and strategic dreams are smart.” [Read more →]

Johnny Rockets, a franchise that prides itself for its “All-American” dishes, is looking to further expand its footprint in Sacramento, California. The brand recently opened its third restaurant in the area, which is conveniently located across the street from a 16-screen movie theater, enabling patrons to enjoy a true night out.

Tariq Munir, operator of the new Sacramento location, explains that he isn’t done with the area either – he plans to open more restaurants in the area as well. He cites the city’s vibrant community as the primary reason he believes the franchise is so successful.

“Johnny Rockets is a family restaurant, a date restaurant, a business lunch restaurant and a place that offers everyone the uncomplicated goodness of all-American food and fun,” Munir said. [Read more →]

Fazoli’s, an Italian food eatery, is celebrating the upcoming summer months by launching a new look and service options.

The interior of the five Omaha, Nebraska-area restaurants have been renovated with a new contemporary design. According to Carl Howard, the company’s president and CEO, the goal of the new design was to provide families with a bright and fun environment that they could enjoy as they ate their meals.

Fazoli’s has also upgraded its service and menu – instead of ordering their food and bringing it back to their seats, they can sit back and relax while they are served by staff. [Read more →]

American consumers are growing increasingly more health conscious and as a result, healthy eateries have profited. Tropical Smoothie Cafe has seen a lot of interest as of late from franchisees, and on Thursday, the brand announced it had even crossed the 300-location mark.

The 300th store opened earlier this week at Fort Myers, Florida – appropriate, considering the first Tropical Smoothie Cafe was opened back in 1997 in the same state. The company has since made a name for itself by offering health alternatives to fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“Our growth has been steady from the start and we are thrilled to hit this incredible milestone,” says Mike Rotondo, Tropical Smoothie Cafe chief operating officer. “The opening of our 300th location offers a chance to celebrate each franchise and pay recognition to the decisions made along the way.” [Read more →]

HomeVestors, the franchise that has branded itself the “We Buy Ugly Houses” company, may have an awkward nickname, but that isn’t driving new franchisees away. The Dallas-based company announced on Wednesday that it had signed 16 new franchisees.

The newly signed members of the network are in a variety of major markets, including Boston, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma and Fort Meyers, Florida. HomeVestors has a unique business model – franchisees will purchase ugly or unattractive homes for discounted prices and then fix them up to sell the properties for profit.

“We’re well on our way to add between 50 and 100 new franchises this year,” said David Hicks, co-president of HomeVestors of America. In total, the franchise has 200 locations in nearly 30 states throughout the country and is increasingly making a mark for itself in the real estate market. [Read more →]

Franchise owners tend to come from a variety of backgrounds – some are laid-off business executives while others farmers looking to try something new. If there is one constant, however, they all have the drive to become a successful business owner.

A number of these driven entrepreneurs recently met in Maryland for a franchising seminar, where they could meet with franchisors and other successful franchisees. Nearly 100 people attended the event and were able to garner valuable information on how to set up a successful franchise.

“We have the potential for some great concepts in Prince George [County, Maryland] and we hope to franchise them,” Charlotte Ducksworth, director of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Small Business Initiative, told the Maryland Gazette. Ducksworth planned and headed the seminar, which took place earlier this week. [Read more →]

The luxury service sector has seen a boom in business now that consumers have more disposable income. Massage Envy, an Arizona-based massage and spa services provider, is making the most of the rise in business, with the company signing 38 new franchise agreements and opening 18 new locations during the first quarter alone.

For the most part, the franchise is riding a wave of momentum that started the previous quarter, when the brand opened 43 new service centers and experienced a 29 percent membership growth. Massage Envy now has more than 300 franchise locations throughout the globe.

“Our team has achieved amazing milestones over the last year and in these first few months of 2011,” said Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey. “We are continuing to expand our reach with the power of a strong brand and a network of talented franchisees who are committed to providing affordable and accessible massage therapy and skincare treatments to their communities.” [Read more →]