Not all fast casual franchises are the same – what to look for when vetting franchise opportunities.
While casual restaurants like Red Lobster, Denny’s and TGI Friday’s are closing doors and fast-food restaurants are receiving pushback due to high prices, the fast casual market is still booming and offering excellent franchise opportunities. In fact, the global fast casual restaurants market size is estimated to grow by $302.5 billion from 2024 to 2028, according to Technavio.
With so much potential, people considering a franchise really need to do their research. Not all franchises provide the same level of support to set franchisees up for success. The team at Ori’Zaba’s Scratch Mexican Grill, a growing fast casual franchise, shared some insight into what people should look for before jumping into franchise opportunity.
Before making a selection do the homework.
Complete Documentation of the Onboarding Process: Purchasing a franchise has many steps. Be sure the opportunity and expectations are clearly documented before the process begins. Ori’Zaba’s knows how critical this early exploration step is, and uses an eight-step process which is clearly outlined on their franchise website OriZabasFranchising.com:
- Form Completion: Complete the online form to get more information about the industry and what sets the opportunity apart from others in the industry.
- Introduction Call: 15-minute call to answer questions and establish qualifications.
- Exploratory Call: An hour-long call where both parties learn more about each other and go over the process.
- Candidate Profile: Create a profile and receive the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and application.
- Schedule FDD Review: Candidates talk to a franchise sales manager to get more information on territories, financials, etc.
- Discovery Day: Visit corporate restaurant and meet the franchise leadership, experience the product.
- Franchise Agreements: Once it is determined that it is a good fit for both parties, the franchise agreement is created.
- Become a Franchisee: After the agreement is signed, the process begins to establish the location(s) and train the new franchisee.
Clearly understand franchisor assistance role.
Initial and Ongoing Support: See what level of support the organization gives to franchisees in terms of:
- Site selection
- Launch phase
- Construction buildout
- 6 week in-restaurant training for 2 Managers
- Operations tasks
- New store opening
- Marketing
- Onsite training support
“When exploring various franchise opportunities in the fast-casual market, be sure to ask for documentation about the level of support the organization gives franchisees, including financial modeling, build-out support, team training and other critical success factors,” explained Franchise Sales Manager Maria Maciel. “It is one thing for a salesperson to say the company will support franchisees all the way through the process, and it is totally different for them to have actual documentation on how they support the success of each and every restaurant.”
Diversity and Inclusion: Today’s franchise market is very diverse, as are the owners and team members. Ori’Zaba’s prides itself on its diversity and inclusion. For example, their training materials are in both English and Spanish, the majority of their management team is female and they offer special franchise discounts to veterans.
Technology: Be sure to ask about the technology being used. To meet market demand, Ori’Zaba’s vetted and integrated dozens of different tech solutions. Nearly every software solution in place was chosen because of its multipurpose efficiency and powerful integration into virtually every business-critical daily activity. These are all in place and ready for the franchisee to lean on from day one. This leaves no guesswork or wasted time for the franchisee. They can focus on growing the business, not reinventing the technology wheel.
Menu to Attract Repeat Customers: People get bored with the same old menu that doesn’t change. Successful fast casual restaurants offer specials to keep people excited about coming back over and over again.
Staying true to their mission of offering fresh authentic old world Mexican cuisine, Ori’Zaba’s Scratch Mexican Grill keeps the menu fresh by offering seasonal menu items like agua frescas and other specialty items which also help increase the guest check average for franchisees. Of course, new products and promotions require team training, and Ori’Zaba’s provides robust training videos, product orders templates and more to ensure any new feature is operationalized effectively.
Promotions and Loyalty Programs: Customers love a good promotion and a great loyalty program. In addition to new seasonal menu items, Ori’Zaba’s offers Kids Eat Free Sundays, value priced menu items, Magico Mondays (surprise weekly in-app rewards) and the Ori’Zaba’s ZIP Rewards app.
Ori’Zaba’s Franchise Business Partner Mayela Masoli explained, “Magico Mondays offers customers exclusive menu deals starting as low as $1 and rotating discounts that are delivered instantly in the free Ori’Zaba’s Zip Rewards app. Our customers love the value that Magico Mondays deliver, along with the fact that these specials change every quarter. From a franchisee perspective, these specials help increase traffic, bring in new customers and promote greater brand loyalty from repeat customers. These folks get the opportunity to try new things, which increases their check average on future visits.”
Delivery and Catering Options: A location’s performance can be boosted dramatically through incremental sales channels such as delivery and catering. This revenue stream should be fully explored before purchasing a franchise. Ori’Zaba’s leverages all sales channels, to allow people to buy and dine as they prefer.
The bottom line is before purchasing a franchise, entrepreneurs should do their due diligence and make sure everything is clearly documented.
About Ori’Zaba’s ─ Ori’Zaba’s Scratch Mexican Grill is a fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain whose mission is to feed the soul of every guest with old world Mexican flavors, made every day with care in their scratch kitchens, with the finest, freshest ingredients. Originating in Las Vegas in 2001, Ori’Zaba’s multiple locations can now be found in Nevada and is currently expanding into Michigan, Texas and throughout the United States. To learn more, visit OriZabasFranchising.com