Max & Erma's vs Symposium Cafe Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Max & Erma's Franchise
Symposium Cafe Franchise
Investment $622,500 - $3,100,000$625,000 - $675,000
Franchise Fee $40,000$40,000
Royalty Fee 4%4%
Advertising Fee -1%
Year Founded 19721996
Year Franchised 19982004
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Max & Erma's Franchise
Symposium Cafe Franchise
Experience --

Financing Options

 
Max & Erma's Franchise
Symposium Cafe 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

 
Max & Erma's Franchise
Symposium Cafe Franchise
Training -3 full months of training for up to three individuals at an existing Symposium Cafe location.
Support -A transition tutor is assigned to directly assist you on a regular basis in your restaurant franchise for a period of 10 weeks. This tutor works closely with you through the opening stages of your cafe, the day-to-day operating systems and procedures to ensure a successful start-up of your restaurant. This program is designed to strengthen and build the Franchise operators commitment to our proven systems. Our unique 10 weeks in-store program is crucial to building your team, establishing a strong customer base, growing restaurant sales and operating a successful Symposium Cafe franchise. The field consulting team provides ongoing support and training through restaurant visits and coaching. They ensure all Symposium Cafe systems, specifications and standards are in place to drive consistent operations and profitable sales. Professional operations staff makes ongoing visits to your restaurant to hear any concerns you may have. They'll also conduct restaurant audits, which expose areas of concern within your operation. Our regional managers work with our Franchisees to develop action plans to correct and eliminate any problems uncovered.
Marketing --
Operations --

Expansion Plans

 
Max & Erma's Franchise
Symposium Cafe Franchise
US Expansion --
Canada Expansion NoYes
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

About Max & Erma's

In 1972, Max & Erma created a fun, unique, gourmet hamburger restaurant you could take friends & family to, decorating it with quirky artifacts & local paraphernalia. Since that day, we've been committed to providing our guests with delicious all-American food & friendly service in a relaxed atmosphere the whole neighborhood can enjoy. We've grown over the years, but always remain true to what made us successful - delivering a great guest experience. After all, Max & Erma wouldn't have it any other way.

We believe that a great experience starts with our food. That's why we use the freshest, highest quality ingredients in everything we serve. Freshness and quality are truly the foundations upon which Max & Erma's was built. We make every effort to do things the right way, not the easy way. We believe this dedication and passion is the reason we're better and the reason our guests return more often. Our market research tells us that our guests know what they are going to order before they get to our restaurant because they crave certain items, our signature dishes. Many guest favorites include our delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tomato Mozzarella Chicken Sandwich, Cajun Shrimp & Pasta, Laredo Steak, Santa Fe Salad, Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, Hand-Battered Onion rings and our famous Gourmet Hamburgers.

About Symposium Cafe

The Symposium Cafe Restaurant - a unique cafe and restaurant franchising opportunity, that is both challenging and rewarding and is redefining the cafe experience. Our competitive advantages stem from the foundation of our gourmet restaurant franchises through to the corporate infrastructure, operational systems and support, and our supplier partnerships. Our franchise system guides each of the franchisees through every facet of the restaurant operation. Upon becoming familiar with our system each franchisee will be able to train and develop each of their associates in all areas of the restaurant business. Our system revolves around the philosophy of "Continued Training" to guarantee our team meets and exceeds our dining patrons expectations. All positional training techniques are clearly outlined in our restaurant manuals with easy to implement instructions. Our restaurant cost management system, indexed in our operations manual, is designed to provide you with the necessary tools to completely analyze and understand your restaurant franchises business both from a sale and cost perspective. Informative and educational restaurant symposiums are held with the main focus and discussion revolving around driving and developing our restaurant and patio sales while controlling costs using our proven cafe systems. All of these elements make The Symposium Cafe franchise a successful, rewarding restaurant franchises opportunity.