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Updated RecentlyEl Chico Cafe vs California Tortilla Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of El Chico Cafe vs California Tortilla including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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| Investment | $1,550,000 - $2,530,000 | $378,400 - $697,000 |
| Franchise Fee | $35,000 | $40,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 5% | 5% |
| Advertising Fee | - | .5% local +2% Nat'l |
| Year Founded | 1940 | 1995 |
| Year Franchised | 1969 | 1995 |
| Term Of Agreement | - | 10 years |
| Term Of Agreement | - | 10 years |
| Renewal Fee | - | - |
Business Experience Requirements |
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| 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 |
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| In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
| Franchise Fees | -/- | -/- |
| Start-up Costs | -/- | -/- |
| Equipment | -/- | -/- |
| Inventory | -/- | -/- |
| Receivables | -/- | -/- |
| Payroll | -/- | -/- |
Training & Support |
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| 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 |
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| US Expansion | - | Yes |
| Canada Expansion | - | - |
| International Expansion | - | - |
Company Overviews
About El Chico Cafe
Since 1940, El Chico Cafe restaurants reflect over sixty years of changing tastes and styles and our guests’ preferences. We have taken care to preserve the heritage while updating the decor and adding exciting new tastes to our menu. The strength of El Chico comes from the simple fact that we have been in this business so long that we know how to improve traditional favorites and how to introduce our guests to the next level of great Mexican food through new product development.
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.