Taco John's vs Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Taco John's vs Chipotle Mexican Grill including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Taco John's Franchise
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
Investment $475,000 - $1,599,000N/A
Franchise Fee $25,000N/A
Royalty Fee 5%-
Advertising Fee 4%-
Year Founded 19681993
Year Franchised 1969-
Term Of Agreement 20 years+10+10+10-
Term Of Agreement 20 years+10+10+10-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Taco John's Franchise
Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    Taco John's Franchise
    Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
    Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
    Equipment No/Yes-/-
    Inventory No/Yes-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support
     
    Taco John's Franchise
    Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
    Training --
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives-
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks-
    Operations 37% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (75% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    		-

    Expansion Plans
     
    Taco John's Franchise
    Chipotle Mexican Grill Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion NoNo

    Company Overviews

    About Taco John's

    The story of Taco John's sounds more like a legend than the history of a business. In Cheyenne, Wyoming, a man named Juan opened a tiny taco house, serving uniquely seasoned and generously sized tacos and burritos. An immediate hit with the locals, the taco house was quickly purchased by local businessmen Harold Holmes and Jim Woodson in 1969. Renamed Taco John's, it began selling franchises right away and now has restaurants across America. The privately held company is still based in Cheyenne.

    "Entrepreneur

    #115 in Franchise 500 for 2020.
    #315 in Franchise 500 for 2021.


    About Chipotle Mexican Grill

    We have been informed by Chipotle that they are Currently Not Seeking Franchisees

    Founded by Steve Ells in 1993, Chipotle Mexican Grill is a Colorado-based chain of restaurants specializing in gourmet burritos and tacos. It is famous for its chunky guacamole, for its large burritos, and for being one of the first successful chains in the newer category of fast-casual dining establishment. Chipotle has an emphasis on quality, which results in slightly higher prices than other traditional fast food chains. Our menu is intentionally simple. By focusing on just a few menu items, we can concentrate our effort on doing a few things very well. We believe that by focusing on the details of quality, service and the Chipotle experience, we'll be able to bring great food and our vision to new customers and keep existing customers coming back. We believe that consumers' increasing concern about the food they eat will foster demand for higher-quality foods. We believe this, in turn, will attract the interest and capital investment of larger farms and suppliers, and help us make our food more accessible, although we'll continue to balance our interest in advancing "food with integrity" with our desire to provide great food at reasonable prices.