10/7 - Can I buy a Taco Bell?
And an update on our friends at Blendid.
Restaurants:
-This week Restaurant Adjacent published its first restaurant review, courtesy of guest contributor Ryan McMahon. Ryan went to Chambers (Tribeca) and found a wine-forward date spot that isn’t impossible to get into. You can read his review here.
-A reminder that when searching for a place to eat in New York City, you can always refer to the Restaurant Adjacent map.
An update on Blendid:
In July, I wrote about my surprising affinity for Blendid, a company automating smoothie production through robotic kiosks. At the time, Blendid seemed most interested in expanding into new locations and resolving the kiosks’ frequent malfunctions.
Three months later, Blendid will give its robots a personality. Complete with googly eyes, a robotic arm designed to “do even more fun moves and twists,” and the ability to “make a dance-off happen,” the Blendid robots are nearly human.
Those googly eyes go crazy.
Can I buy a Taco Bell?
Currently in my last semester of graduate school and still searching for what to do next, I asked myself what any serious young professional would:
Can I buy a Taco Bell franchise?
In a word: no. But neither can you, probably.
To be considered a viable Taco Bell franchise owner you need a minimum net worth of $1.5 million. Nothing says “hey, look at how well I’m doing!” like buying a Taco Bell.
Priced out at the Bell but still interested in that #FranchiseLyfe, I turned to McDonald’s. Sadly, McDonald’s requires franchise owners to have at least $750,000 in liquid assets. Restaurant Adjacent ain’t got it like that.
It turns out that to buy into the pantheon of national fast food franchises you need substantial net worth. Here is #data from an Eater report outlining the monetary requirements for ownership of a few notable franchises.
My takeaways: Chick-Fil-A is a green light. When I sell my mom’s car and my brother’s car while they are both out of town next weekend, Subway could be in play. It’s nice to have options.
While the monetary ownership requirements for each franchise vary, the Eater report emphasizes an often ignored truth: fast food franchises make serious money. The average Chick-fil-A franchise clears $5 million in sales, annually. An average McDonald’s does $2 million per year. For context, the mean annual sales per establishment across the entire restaurant industry is $1.2 million. In sum, in the restaurant industry, owning a fast food franchise is nothing to scoff at.
Which is why choosing between Chick-Fil-A and Subway is no decision to make alone. I need help from an insider. I need The Franchise King.
Appropriately named, The Franchise King is the leading voice of the franchise world. His following is significant: 16K Twitter followers, 1.3K YouTube subscribers, and nearly 5K followers on LinkedIn. Thousands of prospective franchise owners have sought out The Kings’s advice and seemingly all of them came away pleased. While his photos and marketing are downright silly, The Franchise King is - again - nothing to scoff at.
So what doth The King say?
In the eyes of the King, Chick-Fil-A underperforms both morally and financially. On The Franchise King’s Franchise Opportunity Score, Chick-Fil-A is a “1 Crown” franchise. The King does not recommend Chick-Fil-A.
I searched and searched but must report that Subway has yet to receive a Franchise Opportunity Score. Zero crowns? Couldn’t be me. Sorry, Subway.
With no viable prospects and no money, it’s evident that the franchise life is not for me, yet. But one day - once these silly little emails take the world by storm - I’ll be sizing up a Taco Bell near you.
As always thank you for reading. You can expect to see cooking recommendations return next week. Still, this is the best part of the week, every week. Please subscribe - if you are into that sort of thing - and share with friends. Thanks again!
#FranchiseLyfe love the content Paul - Tanay