| ||||
Updated RecentlyZ Pizza vs Me-N-Ed's Pizzerias Franchise Comparison
Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Z Pizza vs Me-N-Ed's Pizzerias including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
||
| Investment | $249,000 - $359,000 | $175,000 - $486,000 |
| Franchise Fee | $30,000 | $25,000 |
| Royalty Fee | 6% | 5% |
| Advertising Fee | 3% | - |
| Year Founded | 1986 | 1958 |
| Year Franchised | 1999 | 1958 |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | - |
| Term Of Agreement | 10 years | - |
| Renewal Fee | - | $1.5K |
Business Experience Requirements |
||
| Experience | - | |
Financing Options |
||
| In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
| Franchise Fees | No/Yes | No/No |
| Start-up Costs | No/Yes | No/No |
| Equipment | No/Yes | No/No |
| Inventory | No/Yes | No/No |
| Receivables | No/Yes | No/No |
| Payroll | No/Yes | No/No |
Training & Support |
||
| Training | Additional training available as required | Available at headquarters, Available at franchisee's location, Opening support |
| Support | The zpizza support system is extremely detailed and begins from the moment your franchise agreement is signed, throughout your development phases, and through your store opening. Training is provided to the operational owners and managers for your store. The zpizza Training Program is a four week program comprehensive of all operational details involved in your business. zpizza provides a team to serve from pre-opening to opening. - Use of brand name, trademarks, recipes, operational systems and methods, and décor - Facility planning on site location and architectural design - Specifications for fixtures, equipment, and leasehold improvements - Assistance in site selection and lease negotiation - Corporate training for Owner/Operator and Director of Operations/General Managers - Kitchen/Back of the House Workflow design - Ongoing support from members of the Training and Operations Team - Ongoing updates for increasing profitability - Products with high industry demand - Favorable national contracts with suppliers of goods and services - Operating manuals, policies, procedures, and business management systems - Annual franchisee meetings - Access to zpizza's proprietary, Internet-based system that acts as a repository for all above-mentioned support materials, manuals, graphics and brand communications. | Newsletter, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives |
| Marketing | Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising | Ad slicks, Regional advertising |
| Operations |
Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 100% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 15 Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators) |
40% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 10 - 25
Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. |
Expansion Plans |
||
| US Expansion | Yes | - |
| Canada Expansion | No | No |
| International Expansion | No | Yes |
Company Overviews
About Z Pizza
Z Pizza was founded in 1986 and began franchising in 1999. The Newport Beach, California-based company has more than 90 units in the United States.Z Pizza is a rapidly growing chain of gourmet, health conscious pizza stores operating in high-profile lifestyle centers and metropolitan retail centers. The store footprint is approximately 1,100 to 1,500 square feet. Z pizza serves four day parts which include, lunch, afternoon chill, dinner and catering. The wide menu serves pizza, pizza by the slice, salads and sandwiches.
About Me-N-Ed's Pizzerias
The pizza world has never been the same since the first Me-n-Ed oven was fired up in Sacramento, California, in 1958. Russ "Me" Johnson and Ed Sandlin didn't set out to build a pizza parlor empire - it just happened.
From their modest beginnings, Russ and Ed began selling Me-n-Ed's franchises throughout California while operating their own restaurants around the San Francisco Bay area. Expanding into Fresno, Russ and Ed met Ben and Marcella Watters, who ran a boarding house and quickly became known for their frequent visits to Me-n-Ed's. As the story goes, during one particular visit, a potted plant in the restaurant caught Marcella's eye. She had to have it. When the owner refused to sell it to her, Marcella bought the entire restaurant. The plant was hers - along with the franchise rights to Me-n-Ed's.
Marcella and Ben moved the restaurant from the original Fresno location to a new site on Blackstone Avenue and joined forces with Bob Cox, who worked with a local baker to perfect a recipe for Me-n-Ed's signature thin crust pizza dough, which has since become the stuff of legends.
Through the mid-1960s, the Me-n-Ed's name continued to expand throughout Fresno and Orange County, along with a reputation for making some of the best pizza west of the Mississippi. In the summer of '62, Doug Price (Marcella's 15-year-old nephew) ventured to Fresno from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, to soak up the California sun and work at Me-n-Ed's.
By the time Doug graduated three years later, his Aunt Marcella and Uncle Ben had moved to Orange County, where they were operating Me-n-Ed's restaurants previously owned by Bob Cox. Doug left the prairies and headed to Orange County to go to college, but his plans quickly changed, and he ended up where he really belonged - working for the family business, Me-n-Ed's.
The Watters continued the Me-n-Ed's expansion into Santa Ana, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Stanton and Long Beach. Then, in 1969, the Watters brought the Me-n-Ed's name north of the border to Burnaby, where the first Me-n-Ed's in Canada opened that summer - managed by 21-year-old co-owner Doug Price.'
Before long, the Burnaby Me-n-Ed's had become a community fixture - albeit more of a pub than a restaurant. Customers would line up to listen to a honky-tonk piano and savour Me-n-Ed's now-famous pizza along with a cold beer. As other neighbourhood pubs began popping up through the years, the Me-n-Ed's atmosphere shifted to one of family, where it remains.
Even now, some 50 years since Me-n-Ed's first came to Canada, you'll still find that same cozy, neighbourly feel that put us on the map - whether you're visiting a Me-n-Ed's in Burnaby, Abbotsford, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam or Langley.