Captain Tony's vs Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Captain Tony's Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Investment $197,550 - $389,800$295,000 - $750,000
Franchise Fee $10,000 - $20,000$49,500
Royalty Fee 4.5% w/cap7%
Advertising Fee 2%2%
Year Founded 19721992
Year Franchised 19851998
Term Of Agreement 20 years10 years+5
Term Of Agreement 20 years10 years+5
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Captain Tony's Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen 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

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

Training & Support

 
Captain Tony's Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Training On-The-Job Training: up to 168 hours8 Week GM & Key Supervisor Training and Certification
Support Purchasing Co-ops Toll-Free Line Online Support Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform -
Marketing Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app -
Operations Absentee Ownership Allowed

Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 5 - 10

100% of current franchisees are owner/operators

On site pre and post opening training and operational support with quarterly QA Visits.

Expansion Plans

 
Captain Tony's Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
US Expansion --
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion Yes-

Company Overviews

About Captain Tony's

Michael J. Martella always believed his father's pizza was the best in the world. When the elder Martella, Antonio, opened the first Captain Tony's Pizza & Pasta Emporium in 1972, everyone in the family pitched in. When Michael graduated from college and began a career as a stockbroker, the pizzas he tried as he traveled around the country just didn't measure up to his father's. Realizing they had a superior product and concept, Michael tried to convince his father to expand the company, but Antonio wasn't interested. In 1987, Michael founded Captain Tony's Inc. and began franchising the restaurant. Each Captain Tony's location serves a variety of entrre and dessert pizzas, submarine sandwiches, pastas and salads. The franchise has restaurants in Great Britain as well as the United States.

Seeking new franchisees throughout the U.S. , Asia, Canada, Central America, Middle East, Mexico, Philippines, South America and Western Europe

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.