Papa John's vs Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Papa John's vs Russo's New York Pizzeria including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Papa John's Franchise
Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise
Investment $26,500 - $844,420$400,000 - $1,500,000
Franchise Fee $25,000$49,500
Royalty Fee 5%7%
Advertising Fee 8%2%
Year Founded 19851978
Year Franchised 19861998
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years +5
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years +5
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Papa John's Franchise
Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise
Experience The prospective franchisee should have at least one partner with a successful business management background and one partner who qualifies as the Principal Operator. For single-unit development, an individual can apply to be both owner and Principal Operator. The Principal Operator must have prior general management experience relative to the number of units to be developed and must own or have the right to acquire at least 5% equity in the business within 12 months of hire date. A fully completed Request for Consideration Form and current resume must be submitted for each member of the proposed franchise group or the owner operator, including the proposed Principal Operator. Also, Papa John's will request supporting documentation from each proposed ownerNo Restaurant experience necessary but helpful Minimum financials are $175K to $400K in investment capital and a $600K to $1.0MM net worth.

Financing Options
 
Papa John's Franchise
Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/No-/-
Start-up Costs No/No-/-
Equipment No/No-/-
Inventory No/No-/-
Receivables No/No-/-
Payroll No/No-/-

Training & Support
 
Papa John's Franchise
Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise
Training We provide initial training for the operator of 6-8 weeks. In addition, we continue to provide ongoing training for your operator and team.Corporate Store, Houston, TX . 8 Week GM & Key Supervisor Training and Certification.
Support -Central Data Processing: At Additional Cost

Field Operation Evaluation: At Additional Cost

Field Training: At Additional Cost Initial Store Opening

Inventory Control

Regional or National Meetings

800 Telephone Hotline
Marketing --
Operations -Average Number of Employees: 10 Full-time, 6 Part-time

Passive Ownership: Allowed, But Discouraged

Expansion Plans
 
Papa John's Franchise
Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion YesYes

Company Overviews

About Papa John's

We didn’t start our business in a boardroom. We started it in a broom closet. Back in 1984, our Founder, John Schnatter (that’s Papa John to you) sold his beloved muscle car to buy pizza‐making equipment. Armed with only an oven and a love for making quality pizza, John opened the very first Papa John’s in the crowded broom closet of his father’s tavern. Over the years, this passion for making better pizza informed every decision and pizza we made...because the last thing we wanted to be was a pizza company. So instead of chopping vegetables with machines, we chop them by hand every day. Instead of investing in gimmicks, we invest in fresh ingredients. And we pile them high on our fresh, never-frozen original dough. Today, we’ve surrounded ourselves with like-minded people with a passion for making better pizza, including franchisees, suppliers, athletes, pizza makers, and farmers we’ve known for over 30 years. Like our friend Dino in California - "he grows the best tomatoes. In the end, John’s desire to create a better pizza built more than a pizza company...he built a pizza family.

At Papa John's we have a simple formula for success: Focus on one thing and try to do it better than anyone else. By keeping the Papa John's menu simple, we are able to focus on the quality of our product by using only superior-quality ingredients. Our commitment to quality can be seen in all of our ingredients, from our fresh (never frozen) water-purified traditional dough, to our vine-ripened fresh-packed tomato sauce (which goes from the vine to the can in an average of six hours), to our cheese made with 100% mozzarella and many other premium ingredients.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a standard Papa John’s franchise is $130,120 to $844,420. This includes up to $73,920 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate.
The total investment necessary to begin operation of a non-traditional Papa John’s franchise is $26,500 to $388,920. This includes up to $56,420 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate.

Seeking new franchise units Worldwide.

Better Ingredients, Better Pizza.

"Top  ""    "Entrepreneur
#64 in Canada's Top franchises.

"franchiserankingscom"
#55 on Franchise Rankings.com
#146 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
#127 in Franchise 500 for 2021.






About Russo's New York Pizzeria

Russo's Restaurants is a national and international franchisor of the fast casual and casual dining brands Russo's New York Pizzeria and Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen. Based in Houston, Russo's Restaurants are composed of a mix of corporate and franchised locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Hawaii. Russo's has entered international markets as well, with locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. There are an additional 20-plus units in development both in the United States and internationally. Chef Anthony Russo has created his concepts from years of applying his unique, family recipes featuring New York-style pizza along with a broad variety of handcrafted pasta creations, calzones, salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts, reflecting his commitment to his New York roots where food and family come first.