Kettleman's Bagel vs Southern Maid Donuts Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Kettleman's Bagel vs Southern Maid Donuts including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Company Overviews

About Kettleman's Bagel

A young company - long on tradition. That is why Kettleman's Bagel Company makes the best bagels around. However, tradition does not mean much if the authenticity is gone. Our bagels are made by bakers who knead the dough, cut it with a knife, roll it out by hand, boil it honey water to seal in the moisture, and bake them in a wood burning oven. Just the traditional and original attention to detail which one expects when they go to an old-fashioned bagel shop. Our system is easy - roll, kettle, and bake traditional bagels in a wood buring-oven using hand picked hardwood, and give each customer a bag full of hot bagels each time they come to Kettleman's Bagel Co. One of the reasons we are so successful is that we offer our customers a "no-wall" experience. When customers walk into our bagel shop, the first thing they see is the Kettleman's Bagel Roller working and rolling fresh bagels. Behind the Bagel Roller is the Baker who finishes the bagels with fresh poppy or sesame seeds and bakes them for about twenty minutes in our wood-burning oven. Once the process is complete, and it is an active process of carefully turning over the bagels away from the open hot wood flames, the bagels are ready to be eaten. The customers' "no-wall" experience means not only they get to watch the entire show, but also that they get to inspect our standards of production and hygiene. We have nothing to hide and our customers love it.

About Southern Maid Donuts

Southern Maid Donuts began in 1937 by Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Hargrove. A young couple coming out of the throws of the Great Depression, they created Southern Maid because they saw the need in the market for quality donuts. They created their own recipes, which have stood the test of time. Quality ingredients and uncompromised procedures are reason for the continued success of the Hargrove family to this very day.

The product was so well accepted that besides selling donuts in their privately owned shops that they were sought out by individuals wanting to use Southern Maid products in their own bakeries and stores. The Hargrove couple began to license their trademark and to help individuals realize their dreams of owning their own businesses. Today, Southern Maid is used in over 100 stores.

The Southern Maid name came about because of being from the South. Mr. and Mrs. Hargrove wanted a name that encompassed a feeling as well as humble southern traditions and memories. Part of this Southern Maid tradition was a large sponsorship for several years of the Louisiana Hayride Show in Shreveport, Louisiana. Many a young entertainer sang the praises of Southern Maid Donuts. An interesting note: Elvis did the only commercial of his life for any product on November 6th, 1954 for Southern Maid Donuts. He sang the jingle. "You can get them piping hot after 4 P.M., you can get them piping hot, Southern Maid Donuts hits the spot, you can get them piping hot after 4 P.M." Elvis frequented the Shreveport store for donuts on his visits to the Louisiana Hayride. Other entertainers that sang the praises of Southern Maid include Minnie Pearl, Johnny Horton, and Johnny Cash. The Johnny Cash version was released on the Best of the Louisiana Hayride Volume 4.

Southern Maid products are also used institutionally in the form of pancake and muffin mixes. The Hargroves had created a pancake mix for home use. Over time, the mix was given to friends and family members. The requests for the mix got so large that they began to package it in 50-pound bags for selling to hotels and restaurants.

Southern Maid has remained a tradition in the South because of the continued use of quality ingredients and procedures. We have been family owned since inception in 1937. Though Mr. and Mrs. Hargrove have since passed on, Southern Maid has evolved into the second and third generations of family ownership and management.