Making the investment
"I had never owned a restaurant…or worked in a restaurant industry, so as long as you have the confidence in yourself, Quiznos gives you everything else."
Naturally when you think about any small business opportunity you must think seriously about the costs of starting a small business. The price to purchase your first franchise is $25,000, which you pay when you sign your franchise agreement. You should plan to invest between $187,800 and $341,800 to begin operation of your new restaurant. This covers all of your start-up expenses (excluding rent for your location), from your initial $25,000 franchise fee, to construction costs, equipment, even your first order of food and supplies!
Return on your investment
There are strict Federal franchising regulations governing financial performance
representation. What we can tell you is that the Quiznos Franchise Support Center
is keenly focused on Franchise Owner profits. In fact, every Quiznos employee's
pay is based, in part, on our Franchise Owners' profitability.
To make your own estimate of profitability, take it in two steps: estimate your
sales, then estimate your expenses. The sales of a Quiznos restaurant mostly depend
on the quality of the site and of the restaurant operator. Visit other Quiznos in
your area. Compare the quality of their site to the one you are interested in. Judge
the operator: is the restaurant clean? Is the staff efficient and friendly? Ask
what their sales are. By doing this, you can make a rough estimate of what your
own sales will be. Our Franchise Disclosure Document indicates that, for the 3,511
stores that were open for the entirety of 2007, average gross sales (including discounts)
were $404,547. You may want to compare that sales number to Subway or other sandwich
competitors who disclose chain-wide averages. If you do this, you'll notice that
some chains quote sales from only a handful of restaurants.
Now let's talk expenses. When you speak with other Quiznos Franchise Owners, make note of their expenses as a percentage of their sales. You can apply these percentages to the sales you estimated and come up with a sense of what you think your profits might be.
Money matters
Part of owning your own business is financing your business startup wisely. At Quiznos,
we require that our Franchise Owners have a minimum credit score - one that is acceptable
to many lenders. We also ask you to contribute 30% of your project cost out of your
own pocket, and you may borrow up to 70%. Keeping your borrowing level down makes
it easier to make money after you open since there is less debt to pay back. Our
Franchise Owners use a variety of sources to finance their investment, from community
banks (sometimes using the Small Business Administration loan program), to national
banks and leasing companies. Some prefer to limit their bank debt by partnering
with family and friends who may have access to cash, favorable credit histories
or previous restaurant operating expertise. We maintain a list of active lenders
that we share with you once you join our franchise system.