Pizza Inn vs Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Pizza Inn vs Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Pizza Inn Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Investment $415,000 - $793,000$295,000 - $750,000
Franchise Fee $5,000 - $25,000$49,500
Royalty Fee 4-5%7%
Advertising Fee -2%
Year Founded 19601992
Year Franchised 19631998
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years+5
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years+5
Renewal Fee depends on contract-


Business Experience Requirements
 
Pizza Inn Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Experience -No Restaurant experience necessary but helpful Minimum financials are $175K to $400K in investment capital and a $600K to $1.0MM net worth

Financing Options
 
Pizza Inn Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/No-/Yes
Start-up Costs No/No-/Yes
Equipment No/No-/Yes
Inventory No/No-/Yes
Receivables No/No-/-
Payroll No/No-/Yes

Training & Support
 
Pizza Inn Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Training -8 Week GM & Key Supervisor Training and Certification
Support --
Marketing --
Operations -On site pre and post opening training and operational support with quarterly QA Visits.

Expansion Plans
 
Pizza Inn Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
US Expansion --
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

About Pizza Inn

With over 400 restaurants operating in the United States, Pizza Inn serves pizzas, pasta dishes, salads and chicken wings. The franchise offers three store sizes :buffet restaurants, delco and express. Buffet restaurants offer dine-in, carry-out and delivery of their full menu. Delco locations have carry-out and delivery services with limited seating. Express restaurants offer a limited take-out menu in airports, arenas, hospitals and on college campuses. This per unit franchise fee varies by concept type: Buffet = $25,000; Delco = $10,000; Express = $5,000.

About Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen

Using the family recipe for hand-tossed dough, the sauce made from fresh-crushed California tomatoes, and imported Italian cheese blends, Anthony became the sole owner and chef of his first restaurant Russo’s Pizza in the early 80’s. "It was 800 square feet. I had a pizza oven, a dough mixer and two tables. That's it. I could only sit eight people.” A few years later, he created Anthony’s Pizzeria, located in Clear Lake, Texas, and soon moved to Houston.

For almost a decade, Anthony refined his menu using classic Italian family recipes and zeroed in on the perfect New York-style pizza. In 1992, Russo’s New York Pizzeria opened in downtown Houston, Texas and proved to be a success.

 
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.