Rosati's Pizza vs Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Rosati's Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Investment $136,200 - $1,241,000$200,000 - $350,000
Franchise Fee $30,000$15,000
Royalty Fee 5%5%
Advertising Fee -3%
Year Founded 19641948
Year Franchised 20061986
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Rosati's Pizza 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

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

Training & Support

 
Rosati's Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
Training A successful operation depends on hiring, training and retaining quality employees and management personnel. As part of the Rosati's Pizza Franchise Program we have designed a comprehensive training system for franchise owners and operators based on proven standards and guidelines developed over the years by Rosati's. Prior to the opening of your store, initial training will take place in one of our locations in addition to classroom training in our corporate office. With the exception of personal costs, transportation and lodging, your training expenses are included in the Franchise fee. On-The-Job Training: 292 hours Classroom Training: 6 hours

Cottage Inn offers a world-class training program

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

Support Our franchise consultants, working under the Director of Operations, maintain constant communication with all franchisees. You will receive operating and marketing information as well as new ideas to assist in the growth of your business. Also provided is an in-depth consultation report, which provides an analysis of your operation and a jointly prepared action plan to optimize store performance. Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform

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 Rosati's marketing strategy targets the geographic area of each restaurant through the extensive use of distinctive print material. A local marketing manual also provides an outline to focus efforts on a variety of community oriented activities. The use of a sophisticated computerized point of sale system provides detailed customer information enabling us to execute the marketing strategy in a cost effective manner. Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app

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 Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 6 - 8

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

 
Rosati's Pizza Franchise
Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
Canada Expansion -Yes
International Expansion Yes-

Company Overviews

About Rosati's Pizza

A TRADITION OF QUALITY for FIVE GENERATIONS.
"Give the people what they want." Saverio (Sam) Rosati Nearly a century ago these were the simple words Sam Rosati lived by; little did he know this humble philosophy helped shape the foundation on which Rosati's Pizza was built. Sam's father began the family's rich tradition of serving delicious Italian food to customers in his New York restaurant back in the late 1890's. After the turn of the century, the family moved to Chicago and opened yet another fine ltalian restaurant featuring "Italian Style Pizza", a tasty appetizer consisting of homemade tomato sauce served on a crispy piece of bread. In 1927, following in his father's footsteps, Sam opened his own Italian restaurant in downtown Chicago. When Sam retired, his sons were ready to continue the family tradition.
The year was 1964 and pizza in America had evolved and was starting to take off. The first Rosati's Pizza opened its doors in a suburb of Chicago. In 1970, Rick Rosati, great grandson of Fred Sr., continued the family tradition and opened his own Rosati's Pizza in Arlington Heights, Illinois. By 1978, a total of ten individual Rosati family members owned Rosati's Pizza locations. In 1979 the family decided to expand the business and began franchising the Rosati's Pizza concept. In 1996 Sam Rosati, great great grandson of Fred Sr. opened his first Rosati's Pizza location in Belvidere, Illinois marking the fifth generation of Rosati family members serving delicious Italian food. Other locations soon followed and Rosati's Pizza was on the map.

"Top          "Entrepreneur
#65 in Gator's Top franchises.
#145 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
#170 in Franchise 500 for 2021.


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