Taco Palace vs Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Taco Palace vs Chipotle Mexican Grill including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Taco Palace Franchise	Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
Investment	$53,200 - $133,100	N/A
Franchise Fee	$33,950	N/A
Royalty Fee	0-4%	-
Advertising Fee	-	-
Year Founded	1985	1993
Year Franchised	1996	-
Term Of Agreement	1 year+	-
Term Of Agreement	1 year+	-
Renewal Fee	-	-
Business Experience Requirements
	Taco Palace Franchise	Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
Experience	General business experience	-
Financing Options
	Taco Palace Franchise	Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
	In-House/3rd Party	In-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
	Taco Palace Franchise	Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
Training	-	-
Support	Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives	-
Marketing	Ad slicks	-
Operations	0% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 12 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (80% of current franchisees are owner/operators)	-
Expansion Plans
	Taco Palace Franchise	Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
US Expansion	-	-
Canada Expansion	No	No
International Expansion	Yes	No

Company Overviews

About Taco Palace

Husband-and-wife team Larry and Sandi Faria bought Taco Palace from Kirk Davison in 1985. The Farias had previously owned a pair of Chevron Oil Co. franchises and brought to Taco Palace 16 years of franchise experience. In developing Taco Palace's franchise program, the Farias were driven by the goal to develop a franchisee-friendly system. Taco Palace franchisees are not required to pay a franchise fee and are strongly encouraged to rent or lease an existing building and then dress it up, rather than construct a new one, a practice that helps to lessen start-up costs. The privately held company is headquartered in Monett, Missouri, and has a co-branding relationship with Kentucky Fried Chicken.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

We have been informed by Chipotle that they are Currently Not Seeking Franchisees

Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle Mexican Grill is a Colorado-based chain of restaurants specializing in gourmet burritos and tacos. It is famous for its chunky guacamole, for its large burritos, and for being one of the first successful chains in the newer category of fast-casual dining establishment. Chipotle has an emphasis on quality, which results in slightly higher prices than other traditional fast food chains. Our menu is intentionally simple. By focusing on just a few menu items, we can concentrate our effort on doing a few things very well. We believe that by focusing on the details of quality, service and the Chipotle experience, we'll be able to bring great food and our vision to new customers and keep existing customers coming back. We believe that consumers' increasing concern about the food they eat will foster demand for higher-quality foods. We believe this, in turn, will attract the interest and capital investment of larger farms and suppliers, and help us make our food more accessible, although we'll continue to balance our interest in advancing "food with integrity" with our desire to provide great food at reasonable prices.