Original Pizza Pan, The vs Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Original Pizza Pan, The vs Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Original Pizza Pan, The Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Investment $150,000$295,000 - $750,000
Franchise Fee $25,000$49,500
Royalty Fee $1000/month7%
Advertising Fee -2%
Year Founded 19841992
Year Franchised 19921998
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years+5
Term Of Agreement 10 years10 years+5
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Original Pizza Pan, The Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Experience -No Restaurant experience necessary but helpful Minimum financials are $175K to $400K in investment capital and a $600K to $1.0MM net worth

Financing Options
 
Original Pizza Pan, The Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/Yes-/Yes
Start-up Costs No/Yes-/Yes
Equipment No/Yes-/Yes
Inventory No/No-/Yes
Receivables No/No-/-
Payroll No/No-/Yes

Training & Support
 
Original Pizza Pan, The Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
Training -8 Week GM & Key Supervisor Training and Certification
Support --
Marketing --
Operations -On site pre and post opening training and operational support with quarterly QA Visits.

Expansion Plans
 
Original Pizza Pan, The Franchise
Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen Franchise
US Expansion --
Canada Expansion No-
International Expansion No-

Company Overviews

About Original Pizza Pan, The

Pizza Pan started off as a family-owned and operated Ohio business. Today, Pizza Pan is a very successful and rapidly expanding franchise.

Almost two decades have passed since the first Pizza Pan store was opened. After all these years, the recipe remains the same.

Their secret? They use fresh dough, sauce, 100% provolone cheese and the finest ingredients. That's the key to their mouthwatering pizza.

As a franchising concept, they've hit their stride. This rapid growth is made possible by the individual franchisees who consider each other family. Each franchisee will stop at nothing to help each other succeed. This family-like atmosphere has powered their success.

About Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen

Using the family recipe for hand-tossed dough, the sauce made from fresh-crushed California tomatoes, and imported Italian cheese blends, Anthony became the sole owner and chef of his first restaurant Russo’s Pizza in the early 80’s. "It was 800 square feet. I had a pizza oven, a dough mixer and two tables. That's it. I could only sit eight people.” A few years later, he created Anthony’s Pizzeria, located in Clear Lake, Texas, and soon moved to Houston.

For almost a decade, Anthony refined his menu using classic Italian family recipes and zeroed in on the perfect New York-style pizza. In 1992, Russo’s New York Pizzeria opened in downtown Houston, Texas and proved to be a success.

 
Russo's Restaurants is a national and international franchisor of the fast casual and casual dining brands Russo's New York Pizzeria and Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen. Based in Houston, Russo's Restaurants are composed of a mix of corporate and franchised locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida and Hawaii. Russo's has entered international markets as well, with locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. There are an additional 20-plus units in development both in the United States and internationally. Chef Anthony Russo has created his concepts from years of applying his unique, family recipes featuring New York-style pizza along with a broad variety of handcrafted pasta creations, calzones, salads, sandwiches, soups and desserts, reflecting his commitment to his New York roots where food and family come first.