Nick-N-Willy's vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Nick-N-Willy's vs Cottage Inn Pizza including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Nick-N-Willy's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Investment $294,500 - $399,500$200,000 - $350,000
Franchise Fee $5,000 - $25,000$15,000
Royalty Fee -5%
Advertising Fee -3%
Year Founded 20011948
Year Franchised 20011986
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Nick-N-Willy's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Experience -

A minimum net worth of $100,000 A minimum of $60,000 in liquid assets or financing or a combination thereof Five Star Customer Service for staff and customers alike Product Quality — using only approved ingredients and the amounts set forth by the Cottage Inn Standard Operating Procedures Professional Image — uniforms should be clean and pressed, and employees should be well-groomed at all times. The Right Personality As a member of the food service industry, our franchisees must have the right personality, too. We look for clean-cut professionals who will take pride in being a Cottage Inn franchisee. We also look for candidates who are strong leaders, can motivate a staff, and treat customers with the utmost care and respect. In the food service industry, it’s important that your store pass the white glove test every day. Safety is always a concern when it comes to proper food handling. To be a successful Cottage Inn franchisee you must also understand profit and loss statements. You need to input tools to measure your expenses on an on-going basis. We lay out what has been successful for Cottage Inn throughout our corporate stores and we want to make sure each franchisee who joins the Cottage Inn family follows the same equation to success.


Financing Options

 
Nick-N-Willy's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees -/--/-
Start-up Costs -/--/-
Equipment -/--/-
Inventory -/--/-
Receivables -/--/-
Payroll -/--/-

Training & Support

 
Nick-N-Willy's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Training

Nick-N-Willy's offers a comprehensive 30-day training program. The training program consists of a combination of practical product components and most importantly a primary focus on how to run your Nick-N-Willy's business. All aspects of operations, accounting, human resources, safety and food services are covered thoroughly.

Cottage Inn offers a world-class training program

On-The-Job Training: 240 hours Classroom Training: 6 hours

Support

Real Estate Once you become a franchise owner, our real estate professionals will work with you in identifying the best site for your business. Nick-N-Willy's has an established real estate network around the country with real estate professionals situated in many local markets. These specialized individuals are familiar with our site requirements and demographic profile. Your real estate professional will negotiate the best lease terms possible with the landlord and work with you every step of the way. Construction We're with you every step of the way- from site selection to grand opening. We have connections with industry experts and professionals from architects and real estate brokers to contractors and equipment vendors. We will help you manage every facet of the project and avoid all of the common pitfalls so that you can get your store ready quickly and efficiently. We'll also be right there with you at your grand opening to make sure that your team is well trained and that you make a great first impression. Financing We are dedicated to helping you to shop around for your business loan to find the best rates and terms. After you become a franchise owner, Nick-N-Willy's will assist you in preparing the necessary business plans and loan submission information for your bank or financial institution of your choosing. It is very common in the franchising business for a franchise owner to obtain government sponsored business loans for up to 70% of the total costs associated with setting up a franchised business. However, business loans for 50% of total costs are more readily available and are most common. In order to qualify for these types of loans, financial institutions typically require unencumbered liquid assets or cash equal to 25% to 50% of the total cost of setting up the franchise business to support the loan application.

On-going support to keep your store running successfully and smoothly. We want you to succeed, which is why we offer our support and advice gained from years of experience in the pizza industry. We’ve been in the business since 1948 and operate 40 locations in two states, so it’s safe to say we know how to run a business. 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

Our advertising department develops advertising campaigns throughout the year by creating new marketing materials and promotions for the use of all franchise owners. The marketing team also oversees production of regional and local marketing to create brand awareness. In addition we assist you in utilizing our marketing materials and techniques to locally promote your stores and participate in community events in your local markets.

We collaborate with a digital marketing agency to help make Cottage Inn the top-ranked pizza company in relevant markets across Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. Cottage Inn employs an in-house creative team and offsite agency to produce a myriad of digital marketing vehicles, including e-blasts, mobile CRM, social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, FourSquare, Instagram). We also leverage traditional print solutions such as bulk mail menus, EDDM (every day direct mail) cards, magnets, box toppers and door hangers. We also invest in branding the Cottage Inn name, making us more desirable across all relevant markets. Cottage Inn is the Preferred Pizza Provider at MIS (Michigan International Speedway) where we serve over 100,000 guests at NASCAR events and the Country Music Festival. Cottage Inn engages franchisees in strategic marketing meetings to receive their input on marketing campaigns and new product development. We also help franchisees market their specific stores via community fairs, business expos, entertainment venues and more. We are family first at Cottage Inn, having been owned by the same family for over 65 years! How we market each of our franchises: Dynamic corporate website with pages dedicated to each franchise location Convenient online ordering A loyalty program to attract and retain customers Mobile marketing to engage with the on-the-go world E-marketing to offer the best deals to our dedicated customers Traditional print marketing menus, direct mail, door hangers, box toppers, magnets and specialty pieces Social media to engage our most dedicated consumers. Branding by way of special event sponsorships

Operations -

Cottage Inn maintains control of its product and distribution by operating a 22,000 square foot commissary in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fresh products are delivered weekly and our warehouse staff is always on call in case of emergency. Cottage Inn produces fresh dough daily. For locations more than 200 miles away from Ann Arbor, we encourage and assist franchisees with setting up their own dough production. This assures a fresh, high-quality product and will help you secure a customer for life.

Absentee Ownership Allowed

Number of Employees Required to Run: 15


Expansion Plans

 
Nick-N-Willy's Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
US Expansion -Yes
Canada Expansion -Yes
International Expansion --

Company Overviews

About Nick-N-Willy's

Our Advantages *Low Cost of Entry Ours is one of the most affordable food franchise opportunities in the country *Multiple Revenue Sources: Dine-in: offering a comfortable dining experience Carry-out: conveniently meeting your customers' timetable Take-n-bake: complete selection of fresh and ready products for those on the go Salads, desserts and sides: complement each pizza experience Beverages: a variety of specialty beverages including beer and wine choices Delivery: delicious pizzas delivered to your customers' homes and businesses *Broad Appeal Pizza represents over $46 billion in sales per year 79% of all consumers eat pizza every 10 days 93% of Americans eat at least one pizza per month Each man, woman and child eats an average of 46 slices of pizza per year Pizza eaters are repeat customers - 78% of households purchase take out or delivered pizza every single month

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About Cottage Inn Pizza

At Cottage Inn we believe that if you're going to craft a pizza, it should be to a certain degree of perfection and that you should never skimp on the quality of your ingredients. It's these two simple statements that drive our process for constructing truly gourmet pizzas.

Veteran Incentives  10% off franchise fee