Back Yard Burgers Inc.

Founded: 1986 Franchising since: 1988
In 1986, supermarket owner Lattimore Michael was bored with his business. After reading an article about restaurants with a double drive-thru, he knew what he wanted to do–start the same kind of restaurant. In 1987, the first Back Yard Burgers opened in Cleveland, Mississippi. There are now locations throughout the South and Midwest.

Back Yard Burgers cooks 1/3-pound specialty hamburgers and ¼-pound chicken sandwiches with toppings ranging from hot pepper sauce to grilled pineapples. In 1999, Back Yard Burgers was named the exclusive food concessions operator for the Memphis Zoo. Visitors can order hamburgers and other favorites at two cafes and from carts throughout the zoo.

The company went public in 1993 under the symbol BYBI on the NASDAQ market.

500 Church St., #200 Nashville, Tennessee 37219

Phone: (901)367-0888 Franchisee Association Back Yard Burgers Franchisee Association

Franchisor is a publicly-held company with 30 employee(s); 3 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2007	138	0	0	43
2006	133	0	0	42
2005	119	0	0	41

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Midwest, Northeast, South, Southeast, United states

Exclusive territories available.
Territory size: 50,000+ population

Total investment: $1M-2M Franchise fee: $25K

Ongoing royalty fee: 4% Term of agreement: 10 years, renewable

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	No
Startup Costs	No	No
Equipment	No	No
Inventory	No	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $750K
Cash liquidity requirement: $500K
Business Experience:

• Industry experience
• General business experience
• Marketing skills

Operations

• 60% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 35
• Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (90% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Available at headquarters: 6 weeks
• At franchisee's location: 2 weeks

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Grand opening
• Internet
• Security/safety procedures
• Field operations/evaluations
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Other marketing support

• LMS consultant

Franchise 500® rank:
#228 (2008); #178 (2007); #174 (2006);