It's A Grind Coffee House vs Dunn Bros Coffee Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of It's A Grind Coffee House vs Dunn Bros Coffee including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
Dunn Bros Coffee Franchise
Investment $173,150 - $473,000$406,300 - $608,500
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $25,000$37,500
Royalty Fee 6%5%
Advertising Fee 2%3%
Year Founded 19951987
Year Franchised 20001994
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years
Renewal Fee $2.5K25% of current fee


Business Experience Requirements

 
It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
Dunn Bros Coffee Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • Strong people skills

  • General business experience

  • Financing Options

     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Dunn Bros Coffee Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/YesNo/Yes
    Start-up Costs No/YesNo/No
    Equipment No/YesNo/No
    Inventory No/YesNo/No
    Receivables No/NoNo/No
    Payroll No/NoNo/No

    Training & Support

     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Dunn Bros Coffee Franchise
    Training Additional training as neededOn-The-Job Training: 270-420 hours Classroom Training: 46-61 hours Additional Training: As needed
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperativesPurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertisingAd Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
    Operations 40% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 12 - 15

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    30% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15

    Absentee ownership will be considered, but is not preferred

    Number of Employees Required to Run: 10 - 20


    Expansion Plans

     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Dunn Bros Coffee Franchise
    US Expansion YesNo
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion NoNo

    Company Overviews

    About It's A Grind Coffee House

    Husband-and-wife team Marty Cox and Louise Montgomery opened the first It's A Grind coffee shop in Long Beach, California, in 1995. Locations feature a blues and jazz theme, and wingback chairs that allow customers to relax while enjoying whole bean coffees, espresso drinks, teas, pastries, muffins and bagels.
    It’s A Grind is a specialty coffee house concept established in 1994 to provide high quality gourmet coffee, espresso beverages, better for you healthy cold drinks, range of home baked foods in a comfortable, community-focused neighborhood environment.
    Our coffee houses are independent, well connected and free spirited.
    Our range of coffee credible merchandise and quirky trinkets and treasures creates an It’s A Grind coffee house experience that promotes a free spirited attitude.

    About Dunn Bros Coffee

    Dunn Bros Coffee was founded in 1987 by Ed and Dan Dunn, who opened their first store in St. Paul, Minnesota. The second location opened in 1991 in downtown Minneapolis. Since then, Dunn Bros Coffee has expanded steadily, to more than 70 locations, first to Texas in 2004, then to other states, including Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri, North and South Dakota, Tennessee, Kansas, and Nebraska.

    Dunn Bros Coffee franchise is a surefire business opportunity. The support team at Dunn Bros Coffee has decades of experience and expertise in all aspects of successful coffee shop operations, construction, marketing and franchising. In fact, members of their team have been franchisees, so they know what others need to succeed. The franchise experience at Dunn Bros Coffee starts with the top-quality training and support, and Dunn Bros Coffee dedicates the resources to ensure franchisees’ receive the skills and knowledge they need to create the high standard Dunn Bros Coffee shop. After opening, Dunn Bros Coffee provide ongoing support with a franchise business manager, continual assistance with operations, and training in business management, customer service, merchandising and more.

    Seeking new franchise units in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin      

    Veteran Incentives  10% off franchise fee