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

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen vs Unique 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
Unique Pizza Franchise
Investment $295,000 - $750,000$62,800 - And Up
Franchise Fee $49,500$30,000 - $100,000
Royalty Fee 7%5%
Advertising Fee 2%3%
Year Founded 1992-
Year Franchised 1998-
Term Of Agreement 10 years+510 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years+510 years
Renewal Fee -$1,000


Business Experience Requirements
 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Unique 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
Unique Pizza Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees -/Yes-/-
Start-up Costs -/Yes-/-
Equipment -/Yes-/-
Inventory -/Yes-/-
Receivables -/--/-
Payroll -/Yes-/-

Training & Support
 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Unique Pizza 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
 
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Unique Pizza Franchise
US Expansion --
Canada Expansion --
International Expansion --

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 Unique Pizza

The Unique Pizza and Subs franchise is an opportunity to get into the extremely popular pizza business where there is always a demand. Our use of the highest quality ingredients, strict adherence to established methods, consistency, reasonable prices and dependable, friendly service make Unique Pizza and Subs the superior choice for excellent pizza. The winning combination produces loyal customers, the best word of mouth advertising and repeat business. One of the main reasons why Unique Pizza and Subs is so successful, is because from it’s conception it was developed to be a franchise. The #1 consideration when developing Unique Pizza and Subs was to achieve the CONSISTENCY of a large franchise with the QUALITY of a “mom and pop” shop. The personal quality locations needed to become a Unique Pizza and Subs franchisee include good financial standing, a high energy level, an ability to build long term relationships and a strong customer orientation. Investment Cost Typical restaurant size is 800-1200 sq.ft. without seating and up to 3000 sq.ft. with seating. The following figures represent costs associated with the 800-1200 sq.ft. size. Variations in costs are accounted for by factors such as your management skills, experience and business acumen, local economic conditions such as the prevailing wage rate, the competition and the sales level reached during the initial period. If a prospective franchisee pays the $100k franchise fee upfront then they are not required to pay the 5% and 3% weekly royalty for 5 years. Or the have the option of paying the standard upfront $30k franchise fee and the standard weekly 5% royalty and 3% marketing fee. If they have the extra start up cash it is extremely advantageous for them to pay the $100k upfront. If their location averages a simple $9,600 per week that's $200k paid over 5 years.