Old Chicago vs Romeo's Pizza Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Old Chicago Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
Investment $1,331,500 - $2,187,000$128,000 - $470,500
Franchise Fee $40,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 4%5%
Advertising Fee 3%1-2%co-op 3% local
Year Founded 1976-
Year Franchised 2000-
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Old Chicago Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
Experience -

We are looking for successful people with a history of business that have the passion to be in the food service industry. Minimally, the following criteria must be met: Single Unit $100,000 in cash or cash equivalents $250,000 in net worth Multi-Unit Development $200,000 in cash or cash equivalents $800,000 net worth Relevant food service operations experience is required by either the potential franchisee or the franchisee's Operating Partner. This is the single most important factor for success. We also require the Operating Partner to have ownership interest in the organization if the franchisee does not have operations experience.


Financing Options
 
Old Chicago Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees -/--/-
Start-up Costs -/--/-
Equipment -/--/-
Inventory -/--/-
Receivables -/--/-
Payroll -/--/-

Training & Support
 
Old Chicago Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
Training The Old Chicago training department will provide Franchisees, their management team, and staff, comprehensive training programs that combine both restaurant and classroom training. All Franchise management teams will receive seven weeks of in-store training at a designated Old Chicago training restaurant. On-The-Job Training: 350 hours

The training program is 4-6 weeks. This program will provide the skills and knowledge to become a Romeo's franchisee. Training will occur at one of Romeo's Pizza Training Restaurants and the Home Office in Medina, Ohio. The Romeo's training includes education on the following: Station Training Management Skills Problem Solving People Development Financial Analysis Local Store Marketing Relentless Pursuit of Pizza Perfection

Support A set of comprehensive manuals are provided to an Old Chicago Franchisee upon the signing of the Operating Agreement. These manuals are designed for easy reference and serve as an authoritative source of information about Old Chicago standard operating policies and procedures. These manuals are frequently updated to reflect Old Chicago's response to the changing needs of today's guests. Purchasing Co-ops Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software

The Romeo's Executive Team will work to design a program tailored to the specific needs of the potential franchise partner. The potential franchisee and their team will be ready for revenue at the end of the training program. Throughout the process, Romeo's will work with the potential franchisee to complete a business plan. The potential franchisee's team will work with Romeo's franchise development, operations and marketing professionals which will help and assist them in developing, marketing and operating a Romeo's Pizza franchise.
Marketing Old Chicago restaurants rely primarily on a Local Restaurant Marketing (LRM) program that allows each store to choose the marketing programs and promotions that match the needs of the individual store's market. Advertising and promotional materials are available at a reasonable cost to Franchisees that support a LRM program. As such we employ our own graphics designer to assist Franchise Partners with their LRM design needs. We also employ a marketing professional to consult with our Franchise Partners. Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Email marketing Loyalty program/app -
Operations -

The franchisee or a designated Operating Partner will be required to actively manage the day-to-day operations of the business. As such, the franchisee or the designated Operating Partner must live in the area to be developed and possess prior restaurant/retail supervisory experience commensuration with the number of restaurants that are planned for development.

Expansion Plans
 
Old Chicago Franchise
Romeo's Pizza Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
Canada Expansion --
International Expansion --

Company Overviews

About Old Chicago

Opportunity Awaits
After 33 years of company growth, we are now offering a unique opportunity for a select number of entrepreneurs to take our proven brand into new markets.
Old Chicago is a leader in the casual dining pizza segment. We currently have territories available in many highly desirable markets, which presents an exceptional chance to establish our winning concept in choice locations.
WHY CHOOSE OLD CHICAGO?
Adaptable Site Requirements
Old Chicago's brand identity does not rely on a typical "box" to succeed. Our adaptive development strategy and flexible design allow stores to be constructed in many different types of sites, including prototype buildings, conversions/retro-fits, strip center end-cap locations, and non-traditional sites.
Sales Mix Advantage
With approximately 40% of historical system sales from our bar and drink business, Old Chicago's sales mix provides operators with a real opportunity to differentiate themselves from other casual dining concepts. Our high mix of bar sales is one of the main reasons why our stores experience exceptionally low Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). Our 60 company stores finished the year in 2008 with an average COGS of 25.6%.
Brand Strength & Versatility
Our brand has three decades of proven success and a loyal customer base in our existing markets. Old Chicago is a timeless concept that has that rare ability to appeal to a variety of consumers. Many casual dining concepts seem to copy each other in their menus and restaurant "feel". The Old Chicago concept is uniquely different.
Our bars have the rich, dark feel of a "freshly scrubbed joint". Our dining room areas with our new pizza bars really appeal to families and couples.
Broad Customer Appeal
Our bar area, along with our unique guest loyalty program -"The World Beer Tour" appeal to a younger, single customers. They create the high energy levels that have made our bars famous. With thirty beer varieties on tap, and another eighty varieties in bottles, we have created an exciting taste journey for our World Beer Tour members. No matter your age or occupation, there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment when your name goes on a plaque in your home store because you have completed the World Beer Tour.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of an Old Chicago Restaurant franchised business is between $1,331,500 and $1,957,000. This includes $98,250 and $135,250 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliates.
The total investment necessary for an Area Development Franchise includes the investment necessary to begin operations of one Restaurant, plus a development fee of $50,000, plus an initial franchise fee deposit of $20,000 multiplied by the number of Restaurants (excluding the first Restaurant) which you must open.

The estimated total investment necessary to begin operation of an Old Chicago
Area Development Franchise is between $1,401,500 (for two Restaurants) and $2,187,000 (for ten Restaurants). This includes between $168,250 and $365,250 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliates.

#299 in Franchise 500 for 2020.



About Romeo's Pizza

Romeo's Pizza is inviting entrepreneurs to explore franchise ownership opportunities with Romeo's Pizza. Romeo's Pizza is ready to fuel growth, especially in the Columbus market, and is seeking seasoned restaurant operators, entrepreneurs or investors who have interest in joining this award-winning brand. We're looking for franchise partners who are passionate about customer service and who possess a strong desire to provide award-winning pizzas to the members of their community. Romeo's Pizza has a proven business model and many franchise partners have multiple stores because of the success they experienced with their first store. We have been voted Best Pizza in Columbus 4 years running. The Columbus DMA offers a great potential for us. We've only just scratched the surface in this market with our 9 stores and there is room to add an additional 10-20 stores in this market. Romeo's Pizza has single and multi-store opportunities available in Ohio. Area development opportunities exist outside of Ohio. Romeo's Pizza offers ongoing training and support in leadership skills, financial analysis, local store marketing, strategic planning, product training, safe food handling and business development. If your passion is pizza and you want to join an award-winning brand, please review additional information at http://romeospizza.com/franchising.php. We are looking for successful people with a history of business that have the passion to be in the food service industry. Minimally, the following criteria must be met: Single Unit $100,000 in cash or cash equivalents $250,000 in net worth Multi-Unit Development $200,000 in cash or cash equivalents $800,000 net worth

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Restaurant under a franchise agreement is $128,000 to $403,000. This includes $25,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or their affiliate for the initial franchise fee.
The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Restaurant under a development agreement depends on the number of Restaurants that you are authorized to develop and ranges from $143,000 to $470,500. This includes $25,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or their affiliate for the initial franchise fee for your first Restaurant and a development fee of $7,500 for each additional Restaurant that you are authorized to establish under the development agreement.
Under a development agreement, the minimum number of Restaurants that you may be authorized to develop is three and the maximum number of Restaurants that you may be authorized to develop is ten.