Friendly's Restaurants vs Chocolate Bar Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
Chocolate Bar Franchise
Investment $498,500 - $1,950,000$250,000 - $500,000
Franchise Fee $30,000 - $35,000N/A
Royalty Fee 4%-
Advertising Fee 3.5%-
Year Founded 1935-
Year Franchised 1996-
Term Of Agreement 20 years-
Term Of Agreement 20 years-
Renewal Fee $5K-


Business Experience Requirements

 
Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
Chocolate Bar Franchise
Experience
  • Industry experience
  • -

    Financing Options

     
    Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
    Chocolate Bar Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/No-/-
    Start-up Costs No/No-/-
    Equipment No/No-/-
    Inventory No/No-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support

     
    Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
    Chocolate Bar Franchise
    Training --
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations-
    Marketing Ad slicks, National media-
    Operations Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 62% of all franchisees own more than one unit

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

    -

    Expansion Plans

     
    Friendly's Restaurants Franchise
    Chocolate Bar Franchise
    US Expansion Yes-
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion No-

    Company Overviews

    About Friendly's Restaurants

    In Springfield, Massachusetts at the height of the Great Depression in 1935, 20 year-old Prestley Blake and his 18 year-old brother Curtis opened an ice cream shop called 'Friendly' that served double-dip cones for 5 cents. The brothers opened a second shop five years later in West Springfield, Massachusetts and added food to the menu. Within a decade, locations opened throughout western Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 1988 Donald N. Smith, the company's current CEO, purchased the company and a year later added an 's' to the name, making it 'Friendly's.'

    In May 2000, Friendly's introduced a new food and dessert menu featuring colossal burgers, sandwich wraps, splits, sundaes and Cyclones. Friendly's produces 10 million snack cups and 230,000 gallons of fudge every year. In addition to its restaurants and cafes, Friendly's manufactures a complete line of frozen desserts.

    About Chocolate Bar

    The Chocolate Bar is a sleek and sexy concept with a casual family friendly menu Named by MSNBC and Entrepreneur as one of the hot new franchises. The perfect place for an intimate dinner a family get together or any special occasion At night The Chocolate Bar transforms into a great place to enjoy our world class martinis, a bottle of wine or a romantic bottle of wine
    The Chocolate Bar, where everything is better with chocolate!