Bar Louie vs Wet Willie's Franchise Comparison

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

Start-Up Costs and Fees

 
Bar Louie Franchise
Wet Willie's Franchise
Investment $923,500 - $3,707,333$716,500 - $1,608,000
Franchise Fee $50,000$35,000
Royalty Fee 5%1.5%Local+2%Nat'l
Advertising Fee 2% local, 1%Nat'l2% local+ 1.5%Nat'l
Year Founded 19911990
Year Franchised 20102006
Term Of Agreement --
Term Of Agreement --
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements

 
Bar Louie Franchise
Wet Willie's Franchise
Experience

Just as there is no cookie cutter location, there is no cookie-cutter franchisee. A company's objective should determine if a potential franchisee is a good fit. For franchisees looking to build on a unique culture, franchisees should be excited for the opportunity to customize. Someone who wants to expand quickly through a replication and repetition rollout approach will not deliver the guest experience that customers should come to expect from the brand.

-

Financing Options

 
Bar Louie Franchise
Wet Willie's Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees -/--/-
Start-up Costs -/--/-
Equipment -/--/-
Inventory -/--/-
Receivables -/--/-
Payroll -/--/-

Training & Support

 
Bar Louie Franchise
Wet Willie's Franchise
Training -Before opening your Wet Willie's, you, your Operating Principal and your Manager must complete, to our satisfaction, an 8-week initial training program we conduct. You, your Operating Principal and your Manager must have successfully completed all state and local required food hygiene and sanitation training as well as having completed a certified course for responsible alcohol service before attending our training program. We will provide up to 10 days of on-site training for all of your other full and part-time hourly employees and members of your staff. We will not charge you a fee for the training of your first Manager and your initial staff. We may charge you a fee for any additional required or optional training and training for subsequent staff. All training will be provided at a location we designate. You must pay for your employees' travel expenses and room, board, wages and insurance during training. The initial training program for you, your Operating Principal and your Manager, which lasts 8 weeks, is conducted at our headquarters located in Savannah, Georgia or at a different location if you and we agree on it. Our training program is overseen by William Dickinson whose experience is listed in Item 2 of this disclosure document. Any other individuals involved in the training program will have at least one year of experience in the subject they teach.
Support

We offer extensive support along the way, including: * Full support through the site identification and construction process * A comprehensive training program for restaurant teams * MALT (Music, Atmosphere, Lighting, Temperature) - the secret to creating the Bar Louie experience * Access to leading software and restaurant management tools * Compelling advertising and local store marketing materials * Extensive PR and social media programming

After you open your Wet Willie's, we will provide the following assistance and services to you: * Our staff will be accessible to you and your staff for consultation by telephone, fax, written communication, e-mail and other forms of electronic communication. * We will visit your Wet Willie's location from time to time to conduct quality reviews and to consult with the staff regarding Standards of Quality and Performance Compliance. * We will host refresher training sessions for franchisees at franchisee conferences and conventions. * We will develop and provide additions and supplements to the Operations Manual as they become available * Marketing materials * Operation of a Brand Fund * Access to our intranet site * Hosting a web page for you on our website. * Evaluation of proposed modifications to our approved suppliers and products. * Access to our approved supplier network and the ability to take advantage of our buying power.
Marketing --
Operations --

Expansion Plans

 
Bar Louie Franchise
Wet Willie's Franchise
US Expansion Yes-
Canada Expansion --
International Expansion --

Company Overviews

About Bar Louie

Bar Louie is a national collection of neighborhood bars featuring hand-crafted cocktails and spirits, delectable food and an inviting atmosphere for people to enjoy time with friends and mingle with new people. Founded in 1990 by Ted Kasmir and Roger Greenfield, Bar Louie has more than 100 locations across the United States and is growing through both franchising and corporate locations. Open during four parts of the day - lunch, happy hour, dinner and late night - Bar Louie is an award-winning concept with a progressively hip and lively atmosphere. Each Bar Louie is a local social, casual gathering spot - neighborhood bars and eateries that feature hand-crafted cocktails, spirits and delectable scratch food in an inviting, urban atmosphere. Each Bar Louie has a modern, relaxed vibe that expresses the brand’s identity, and no two locations are alike. Some are a cozy 5,000 square feet, while another boasts a roomy 11,000 square feet, with many other locations somewhere between. Layouts vary, as do local food and drink specials. Just as no two locations are like, there is no "cookie-cutter" type of franchise partner for Bar Louie. While existing franchisees have owned a business, each owner comes from a unique facet of life. Similarly, guests range from ages 25 to 54 and more than 50 percent are women. Another distinction is Bar Louie's four distinct day-parts - lunch, happy hour, dinner and late night - with the entire food and drink menu available all day, every day. This provides guests a perfect gathering place for family dinners, drinks with friends, watching sporting events and everything between. The average customer visit lasts longer than two hours.
Financially we require per location: $500K liquid assets, $1.5 million net worth.

The total investment necessary to begin operations of a Bar Louie Restaurant franchised business ranges from $923,500 to $3,707,333. This includes $50,500 that must be paid to the franchisor or an affiliate.
The total initial investment necessary to begin operation as a Bar Louie Area Developer is $25,000 multiplied by the number of Bar Louie restaurants to be developed under the Development Agreement. This is the same amount that must be paid to the franchisor or an affiliate.

About Wet Willie's

Wet Willie's is a concept that has developed strong brand recognition and has a twenty-four year track record.

Wet Willie's produces superior frozen daiquiris resulting from the mix of premium alcoholic beverage products with unique, high quality flavors specifically selected and blended exclusively for Wet Willie's.

Wet Willie's daiquiris are frozen to the perfect temperature and are constantly blended in our daiquiri machines to ensure that our daiquiris always have the perfect temperature, consistency and uniform taste that is unique to Wet Willie's.

In every Wet Willie's there are between 20 and 30 daiquiri machines offering a range of different flavors, a kaleidoscope of colors, and an opportunity for our customers to experiment making their own blends.

Our food items are prepared from quality ingredients. Overseen by two professional Chefs, our recipes have been perfected over our 24 year history. Preparation is relatively uncomplicated and the results are superior. Systems have been established to assist in controlling food costs and inventories.

Our superior food and beverages are complimented by an equally superior environment. From our friendly, well-trained staff to our beautiful murals, everything about Wet Willie's spells FUN.

Our system is simple and efficient. Keeping things simple and keeping things moving is the cornerstone of the Wet Willie's system. Bartenders are able to produce any drink offered with the pull of a lever or the twist of a cap, and therefore it is not necessary for our bartenders to be mixologists. The system also allows for simple and precise inventory control.