Fox's Pizza Den vs Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Fox's Pizza Den 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

 
Fox's Pizza Den Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Investment $101,800 - $236,250$295,000 - $750,000
Franchise Fee $15,000$49,500
Royalty Fee $400/mo.7%
Advertising Fee -2%
Year Founded 19711992
Year Franchised 19741998
Term Of Agreement 5 years10 years+5
Term Of Agreement 5 years10 years+5
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Fox's Pizza Den 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

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

Training & Support

 
Fox's Pizza Den Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Training On-The-Job Training: 140 hours 8 Week GM & Key Supervisor Training and Certification
Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Online Support Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform -
Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Loyalty program/app -
Operations 5% of all franchisees own more than one unit

Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 10

Absentee ownership allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

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

Expansion Plans

 
Fox's Pizza Den Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
US Expansion Yes-
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

About Fox's Pizza Den

Jim Fox started working with pizza when he was 12, hanging around a local pizza shop filling soda machines and folding pizza boxes. In 1971, at age 24, he started Fox's Pizza Den in Pitcairn, Pennsylvania. With $500, a rented storeroom and a few pieces of used equipment (rescued from a snow-covered Pittsburgh scrap yard), he began to build his empire. In 1973, Fox's Pizza Den started offering home delivery. Since 1974, the company has grown to over 150 franchises. Fox's Pizza is a family-owned and -operated company that offers toppings such as pepperoni, sweet peppers, hot banana peppers, beef, bacon, anchovies, black olives, pineapple and more. Fox's also offers stromboli, gourmet pizzas, hoagies and wedgies (a sandwich served on pizza crust). Jim Fox assisted with Carnegie Mellon University's robotic team in developing the country's first pizza-making robot to help the physically disabled own and operate their own shops.

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.