Red is Marose

The first McDonald’s opened in 1940, and held the opening ceremony on its 1,000th store just 28 years later. Franchised brilliantly by Ray Kroc, the chain of restaurants proceeded to become the biggest name in food service.

Franchising restaurants is a fantastic way to become wealthy, provided that you go about it in a smart way. There are many restaurant chains that offer franchises. The high end ones will cost you a pretty penny to open, such as Little Caesars Pizza ($599,000), Perkins Restaurant and Bakery ($1.2 million), or the kingpin itself, McDonald’s ($950,000-$1.8 million). However, there are also lower-cost franchises to consider that require investments of $125,000, like Subway.

Along with the initial investment or minimum liquidity (some restaurant chains insist that you have a certain amount of cash), there’s always a franchise fee to open a restaurant. These range from $5,000 to over $50,000. There is also usually an ongoing royalty fee. Once you’ve payed your dues and learned from the company how to run your store, you can start getting ready for opening day.
Obviously, equipment is important. A restaurant franchise may require such appliances as industrial grills, pizza ovens, steamers, and a commercial refrigerator as well as food preparation dishes and utensils. These items can be pricy. For example, a commercial refrigerator runs between $1,200 and $10,000.

Every good restaurant needs a good location, and real estate fees become part of the capital that you’ll need to open your franchise. Building the restaurant, hiring a team of food servers and cooks, and utilities all add to the costs of owning your own chain restaurant.

With savvy planning, good business sense, and careful expenditures, an investment in a franchise can be a terrific route to prosperity. Although costly at first, a franchise can make incredible returns. Better start saving for that commercial refrigerator now.

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