Houlihan's vs Applejack's Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Houlihan's vs Applejack's including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Houlihan's Franchise
Applejack's Franchise
Investment $1,600,000 - $4,300,000$250,000 - $275,000
Franchise Fee $40,000$25,000
Royalty Fee 4%4%
Advertising Fee -2%
Year Founded 19721999
Year Franchised 19942004
Term Of Agreement 20 years10 years
Term Of Agreement 20 years10 years
Renewal Fee $5K-


Business Experience Requirements

 
Houlihan's Franchise
Applejack's Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • General business experience
  • Must live in same market being developed
  • -

    Financing Options

     
    Houlihan's Franchise
    Applejack's 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/Yes-/-
    Payroll No/Yes-/-

    Training & Support

     
    Houlihan's Franchise
    Applejack's Franchise
    Training --
    Support Meetings, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives-
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertising-
    Operations Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 78

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (80% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    -

    Expansion Plans

     
    Houlihan's Franchise
    Applejack's Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion No-

    Company Overviews

    About Houlihan's

    Houlihan's has been known for exceptional food at an affordable price since we entered the casual dining segment in 1972. Our menu features a great mix of contemporary pop American cooking - classic dishes reinvented in a fresh modern way and brought to the table with simple, stylish plating and presentations. And then there's the bar. It's always the best place to feel the great energy of Houlihan's. Our bar strategy unites pop culture, trendy premium brands, the newest drinks and vendor insights for a winning combination, resulting in an enviable liquor mix.

    To help us more quickly expand to new markets and trade areas, Houlihan's is seeking sophisticated restaurant operators with experience building out entire markets. At this time, we are not pursuing single-site franchise agreements.

    Our ideal candidate to become a franchise market developer is a successful full-service, multi-unit operator with expertise in one or more large markets (e.g. the top 75 MSAs in the United States). We are seeking entrepreneurial organizations that can thrive in our flexible franchise environment, while having access to growth capital and capital reserves, but experiencing growth constraints with their current restaurant concept(s).

    About Applejack's

    As an effective business operator, you wish to minimize risk and maximize profit. That is exactly what successful franchising is all about. Franchised businesses have a higher success rate than independent businesses. This is a fact. It is generally accepted that an estimated 40% of all non-franchised businesses do not make it to the end of their first year of operation, and 80% will fail within their first five years of operation. And even the 20% that do manage to survive are not safe, as 90% of them will fail within the next five years. In most cases this is not due to lack of revenues and its mostly based on lack of experience, support and management skills. By joining a Franchise, franchisees can benefit from the Brand marketing, purchasing power and management expertise offered by well-established franchisors. This is particularly attractive to those persons entering the highly competitive food service industry for the first time. As a result of the positive interaction between franchisee and franchisor, our restaurant owner/operators are much more likely to be financially successful than were they to enter the industry as independent restaurateurs.