It's A Grind Coffee House vs Van Houtte Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of It's A Grind Coffee House vs Van Houtte 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
Van Houtte Franchise
Investment $173,150 - $473,000$250,000 - $300,000
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $25,000$27,500
Royalty Fee 6%5%
Advertising Fee 2%-
Year Founded 19951919
Year Franchised 20001983
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years
Renewal Fee $2.5K-


Business Experience Requirements
 
It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
Van Houtte Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • Strong people skills
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Van Houtte Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/YesNo/No
    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
    Van Houtte Franchise
    Training Additional training as needed-
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperativesMeetings, Grand opening, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertisingCo-op advertising, Regional advertising
    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)

    		 5% of all franchisees own more than one unit

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

    Expansion Plans
     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Van Houtte Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion NoNo
    International Expansion NoYes

    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 Van Houtte

    Albert-Louis Van Houtte, a French immigrant, set up his first grocery store in Montreal in 1919. Van Houtte stocked the store with specialty products from Europe, including coffee. Each day he would roast small batches of coffee in the back of his shop, and soon Van Houtte had built up a reputation in Montreal for selling quality coffee. In the more than 80 years since its founder began roasting European coffees, A.L. Van Houtte Cafe-Bistro has grown beyond Montreal and has expanded its menu. Today, each cafe-bistro serves a variety of coffee and espresso drinks, as well as teas, soups and sandwiches.