Pepe's Mexican Restaurants vs California Tortilla Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Pepe's Mexican Restaurants Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
Investment $207,000 - $652,000$378,400 - $697,000
Franchise Fee $10,000 - $15,000$40,000
Royalty Fee 4%5%
Advertising Fee -.5% local +2% Nat'l
Year Founded 19671995
Year Franchised 19671995
Term Of Agreement 20 years10 years
Term Of Agreement 20 years10 years
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Pepe's Mexican Restaurants Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
Experience - * A minimum of $1,000,000 net worth and $250,000 of liquid assets to invest in your California Tortilla franchise; * Experience in either the food/restaurant industry; and/or prior franchise experience; and/or prior business or management experience (whew!); * A passionate commitment to customer service; * A sound operating plan to manage your business; * A cultural fit with California Tortilla and a passion for Mexican food; * The willingness to learn and apply the California Tortilla Operating System.

Financing Options

 
Pepe's Mexican Restaurants Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/Yes-/-
Start-up Costs No/Yes-/-
Equipment No/No-/-
Inventory No/Yes-/-
Receivables No/No-/-
Payroll No/No-/-

Training & Support

 
Pepe's Mexican Restaurants Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
Training - On-The-Job Training: 200 hours Classroom Training: 10 hours
Support Newsletter, Meetings, Grand opening, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperativesPurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Operations Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 25% of all franchisees own more than one unit

Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 10

Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 15

Expansion Plans

 
Pepe's Mexican Restaurants Franchise
California Tortilla Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

About Pepe's Mexican Restaurants

Pepe's concept began in 1954 as a taqueria in Chicago. Pepe's Incorporated has been franchising Pepe's Mexican Restaurants since 1967. Pepe's prepares and serves a full menu of Mexican food items for dining-in or carryout. It also operates a 57,000 square foot U.S. commissary where it produces food products for its franchised restaurants and its branded product program. The branded product program sells food products to schools, factories, and office cafeterias, as well as the U.S. Military for use at military bases in the United States and abroad.

About California Tortilla

California Tortilla is Mexican Re-Imagined. From the ingredients to the preparation to customer service, we’ve transformed a "quick bite” into a mouth-watering, crave-inducing, "I can’t wait to come back” experience.

California Tortilla is a unique fast casual Mexican restaurant franchise that serves "California style” Mexican food. We focus on one aspect that many other Fast Casuals continue to ignore; quality. We source the best ingredients from local farm to table purveyors. We use only premium proteins and our salsa, guacamole, queso and sauces are made fresh daily and are never frozen. In fact, there’s no freezer on site at all. Our menu is Chef-Inspired, and while we cater to individual customer needs, we offer bold and exciting flavor profiles in our signature products. Perhaps most importantly, guests aren’t a number at Cal Tort. They are individuals… people that we really like and want to see again and again.