It's A Grind Coffee House vs Mountain Mudd Espresso Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of It's A Grind Coffee House vs Mountain Mudd Espresso 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
Mountain Mudd Espresso Franchise
Investment $173,150 - $473,000$162,000 - $298,000
Franchise Fee $15,000 - $25,000$10,000
Royalty Fee 6%4%
Advertising Fee 2%up to 2%
Year Founded 19951994
Year Franchised 20002007
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee $2.5K-


Business Experience Requirements

 
It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
Mountain Mudd Espresso Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
  • Strong people skills
  • -

    Financing Options

     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Mountain Mudd Espresso 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

     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Mountain Mudd Espresso Franchise
    Training Additional training as needed-
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives-
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, 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)

    -

    Expansion Plans

     
    It's A Grind Coffee House Franchise
    Mountain Mudd Espresso Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion No-

    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 Mountain Mudd Espresso

    Mountain Mudd Espresso drive-thru kiosks offer espressos modeled after those served in Naples, Italy, as well as coffee, tea and frozen drinks. Based in Billings, Montana, the company opened its first drive-thru in 1994, and began franchising in 2007. In 2011, Mountain Mudd Espresso was sold to Cafe International.