Chipotle Mexican Grill vs California Tortilla Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
Investment N/A$378,400 - $697,000
Franchise Fee N/A$40,000
Royalty Fee -5%
Advertising Fee -.5% local +2% Nat'l
Year Founded 19931995
Year Franchised -1995
Term Of Agreement -10 years
Term Of Agreement -10 years
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
Experience - * A minimum of $1,000,000 net worth and $250,000 of liquid assets to invest in your California Tortilla franchise; * Experience in either the food/restaurant industry; and/or prior franchise experience; and/or prior business or management experience (whew!); * A passionate commitment to customer service; * A sound operating plan to manage your business; * A cultural fit with California Tortilla and a passion for Mexican food; * The willingness to learn and apply the California Tortilla Operating System.

Financing Options

 
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees -/--/-
Start-up Costs -/--/-
Equipment -/--/-
Inventory -/--/-
Receivables -/--/-
Payroll -/--/-

Training & Support

 
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
Training - On-The-Job Training: 200 hours Classroom Training: 10 hours
Support -Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing - Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Operations - Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 15

Expansion Plans

 
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
US Expansion -Yes
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

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.

About California Tortilla

California Tortilla is Mexican Re-Imagined. From the ingredients to the preparation to customer service, we’ve transformed a "quick bite” into a mouth-watering, crave-inducing, "I can’t wait to come back” experience.

California Tortilla is a unique fast casual Mexican restaurant franchise that serves "California style” Mexican food. We focus on one aspect that many other Fast Casuals continue to ignore; quality. We source the best ingredients from local farm to table purveyors. We use only premium proteins and our salsa, guacamole, queso and sauces are made fresh daily and are never frozen. In fact, there’s no freezer on site at all. Our menu is Chef-Inspired, and while we cater to individual customer needs, we offer bold and exciting flavor profiles in our signature products. Perhaps most importantly, guests aren’t a number at Cal Tort. They are individuals… people that we really like and want to see again and again.