Happy Joe's vs Romeo's Pizza Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Happy Joe's vs Romeo's Pizza including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Happy Joe's Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
Investment $24,470 - $1,030,625$128,000 - $470,500
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $17,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 4.5%-5%5%
Advertising Fee 1.5%1-2%co-op 3% local
Year Founded 1972-
Year Franchised 1973-
Term Of Agreement 15 years-
Term Of Agreement 15 years-
Renewal Fee 10% of fee or $2K-


Business Experience Requirements
 
Happy Joe's Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience

    • We are looking for successful people with a history of business that have the passion to be in the food service industry. Minimally, the following criteria must be met: Single Unit $100,000 in cash or cash equivalents $250,000 in net worth Multi-Unit Development $200,000 in cash or cash equivalents $800,000 net worth Relevant food service operations experience is required by either the potential franchisee or the franchisee's Operating Partner. This is the single most important factor for success. We also require the Operating Partner to have ownership interest in the organization if the franchisee does not have operations experience.


    Financing Options
     
    Happy Joe's Franchise
    Romeo's Pizza Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
    Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
    Equipment No/Yes-/-
    Inventory No/Yes-/-
    Receivables No/Yes-/-
    Payroll No/Yes-/-

    Training & Support
     
    Happy Joe's Franchise
    Romeo's Pizza Franchise
    Training On-The-Job Training: 300 hours Classroom Training: 40 hours

    The training program is 4-6 weeks. This program will provide the skills and knowledge to become a Romeo's franchisee. Training will occur at one of Romeo's Pizza Training Restaurants and the Home Office in Medina, Ohio. The Romeo's training includes education on the following: Station Training Management Skills Problem Solving People Development Financial Analysis Local Store Marketing Relentless Pursuit of Pizza Perfection

    Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software

    The Romeo's Executive Team will work to design a program tailored to the specific needs of the potential franchise partner. The potential franchisee and their team will be ready for revenue at the end of the training program. Throughout the process, Romeo's will work with the potential franchisee to complete a business plan. The potential franchisee's team will work with Romeo's franchise development, operations and marketing professionals which will help and assist them in developing, marketing and operating a Romeo's Pizza franchise.
    Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app-
    Operations 33% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 45

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    The franchisee or a designated Operating Partner will be required to actively manage the day-to-day operations of the business. As such, the franchisee or the designated Operating Partner must live in the area to be developed and possess prior restaurant/retail supervisory experience commensuration with the number of restaurants that are planned for development.

    Expansion Plans
     
    Happy Joe's Franchise
    Romeo's Pizza Franchise
    US Expansion YesYes
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion Yes-

    Company Overviews

    About Happy Joe's

    Lawrence Joseph Whitty had worked in the bakery business for years before becoming an assistant manager at a Shakey's pizzeria. He decided to combine his baking skills with the experience he had gained from working at a pizza restaurant, where he would often hear families decide to go out for ice cream for dessert. Combining pizza and ice cream, Whitty opened the first Happy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Parlor in East Davenport, Iowa, in 1972. His signature item was the Happy Joe's Special, a pizza with Canadian bacon and sauerkraut that Whitty created from leftovers in his mother's kitchen. After a franchisee suggested adding tacos to the menu, Whitty created the restaurant's best-selling product, the Taco Pizza.

    Seeking new franchisees in the following regions/states:

     Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Wisconsin

    The total investment necessary to begin operations of a Happy Joe’s Full Size Restaurant or Happy Joe’s PizzaGrille Restaurant is $279,750 to $1,030,625. This includes $0 to $16,500 that must be paid to the franchisor or an affiliate.
    The total investment necessary to begin operations of a Happy Joe’s DELCO Facility is $164,500 to $423,000. This includes the $0 to $16,500 that must be paid to the franchisor or an affiliate.
    The total investment to begin operations of a Happy Joe’s Satellite ranges from $24,470 to $132,340. This includes the $0 to $16,500 paid to the franchisor or an affiliate.
    The total investment necessary to begin operations of a Happy Joe’s Area Developer business ranges from $17,625 to $94,100. This includes the development fee ranging from $15,000 to $45,000 that must be paid to the franchisor.


    About Romeo's Pizza

    Romeo's Pizza is inviting entrepreneurs to explore franchise ownership opportunities with Romeo's Pizza. Romeo's Pizza is ready to fuel growth, especially in the Columbus market, and is seeking seasoned restaurant operators, entrepreneurs or investors who have interest in joining this award-winning brand. We're looking for franchise partners who are passionate about customer service and who possess a strong desire to provide award-winning pizzas to the members of their community. Romeo's Pizza has a proven business model and many franchise partners have multiple stores because of the success they experienced with their first store. We have been voted Best Pizza in Columbus 4 years running. The Columbus DMA offers a great potential for us. We've only just scratched the surface in this market with our 9 stores and there is room to add an additional 10-20 stores in this market. Romeo's Pizza has single and multi-store opportunities available in Ohio. Area development opportunities exist outside of Ohio. Romeo's Pizza offers ongoing training and support in leadership skills, financial analysis, local store marketing, strategic planning, product training, safe food handling and business development. If your passion is pizza and you want to join an award-winning brand, please review additional information at http://romeospizza.com/franchising.php. We are looking for successful people with a history of business that have the passion to be in the food service industry. Minimally, the following criteria must be met: Single Unit $100,000 in cash or cash equivalents $250,000 in net worth Multi-Unit Development $200,000 in cash or cash equivalents $800,000 net worth

    The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Restaurant under a franchise agreement is $128,000 to $403,000. This includes $25,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or their affiliate for the initial franchise fee.
    The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Restaurant under a development agreement depends on the number of Restaurants that you are authorized to develop and ranges from $143,000 to $470,500. This includes $25,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or their affiliate for the initial franchise fee for your first Restaurant and a development fee of $7,500 for each additional Restaurant that you are authorized to establish under the development agreement.
    Under a development agreement, the minimum number of Restaurants that you may be authorized to develop is three and the maximum number of Restaurants that you may be authorized to develop is ten.