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

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Johnnie's Pizza Franchise
Investment $295,000 - $750,000$112,200 - $537,500
Franchise Fee $49,500$30,000
Royalty Fee 7%6%
Advertising Fee 2%-
Year Founded 19921984
Year Franchised 19982005
Term Of Agreement 10 years+510 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years+510 years
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Johnnie's Pizza 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

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

Training & Support

 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Johnnie's Pizza Franchise
Training 8 Week GM & Key Supervisor Training and Certification* Available at headquarters: 1 week

* At franchisee's location: 2 weeks

Support --
Marketing --
Operations On site pre and post opening training and operational support with quarterly QA Visits.-

Expansion Plans

 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Johnnie's Pizza Franchise
US Expansion -Yes
Canada Expansion --
International Expansion -Yes

Company Overviews

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.

About Johnnie's Pizza

At 16 years old, Bruce Jackson was flipping pizza at the original Johnny’s Pizza in Manlius, New York. He loved the business: serving piping hot pizza - always made with fresh, authentic ingredients - to happy customers, sitting down with the locals on a Friday night for a slice, or feeding the high school football team after a win. He saw opportunity. And he wanted to build his own. Most of our franchise operators are familiar with the feeling.

In three short years, Bruce opened a Johnny’s Pizza just off the Syracuse University campus with Johnny’s younger brother Rosario. After six years of success there, Bruce and a new business partner, Scott Allen, were ready for a move to warmer weather! Atlanta, Georgia is where they landed.

In 1977, Bruce and Scott wrote "Now Open” on a pizza box, stuck it in the front window of their storefront in Atlanta, and started selling pizza. One year later, they opened a second store. As entrepreneurs, they saw bigger potential in the brand and the business model they’d so carefully fine-tuned. In 1994, they officially began to franchise. In 2003, we needed a unique name to operate on a national level. So we gave Johnny a last name, and Johnny Brusco’s Pizza was born!

Now a new generation of leadership is guiding Johnny’s Pizza into the future. Bruce’s son, Luke, is expanding the business across the southeast and focusing on growth in dine-in, delivery and online ordering segments. We’re also focusing on ways to increase individual store volume growth, including new seasonal menu offerings and an expanded craft beer selection.