Me-N-Ed's Pizzerias vs Pizza Ranch Franchise Comparison

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.

The Midwest is home to Pizza Ranch and we're proud of it. Every day, we provide an extraordinary opportunity for Pizza Ranch team members to contribute to the lives and communities we serve. Successful Pizza Ranch owners may be a bit different from traditional franchising investors. In addition to operating a winning business concept, a Pizza Ranch operator/manager is connected personally to the community. It is part of who we are. Owning your own Pizza Ranch is about contributing to the local school system. It is about providing positive first-time work experience to area youth. It is about pitching in and helping with a fund raising drive. It is about the basics - trust, commitment, passion and a good old smile for everyone who comes in the door. If a winning pizza restaurant franchise concept sounds good to you, you may find a welcome home at Pizza Ranch. You can own a business by buying a franchise with an outstanding track record. Our expansion into new markets around the greater Midwest is opening up exciting new franchise opportunities. Becoming an owner/operator of a Pizza Ranch allows you to partner with an established brand, already strong with over 140 restaurants in 9 states. * Start-up investment levels vary depending on the store profile; free-standing, ground-up building, retrofited structure, purchase of an existing store. Minimum liquid cash assets and financial net worth requirements are adjusted accordingly. * Although not required, it is strongly recommended that the restaurant operator have an equity stake of the business/real estate.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Pizza Ranch® franchise is from $769,200 to $1,840,750 if you lease or remodel your Restaurant and $1,794,500 to $2,624,500 if you build a new Restaurant.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Pizza Ranch® franchise is from $1,257,198 to $2,542,748 if you lease or remodel your Restaurant equipped with a FunZone and $2,352,498 to $3,459,498 if you build a new Restaurant equipped with a FunZone. This includes $44,500 that must be paid to the franchisor or their affiliate.

#170 in Franchise 500 for 2020.