Start a Fazoli's Franchise in 2024

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $1.5M - $2.4M

Units as of 2024: 203 4% over 3 years

Fazoli’s is a fast-growing chain of Italian-American-themed fast-casual restaurants. The brand is famous for serving great Italian dishes with modern restaurant decor and enviable customer service. Headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky, Fazoli's was founded in 1988, and the company started franchising in 1991. Today, the company owns more than 160 franchised restaurants in many states throughout the United States. Even with such a vast network of locations, there are still many desirable development areas available.

Why You May Want to Start a Fazoli’s Franchise

Fazoli’s offers an exceptionally lucrative and exciting franchising opportunity. By joining the family, you become part of a nationally recognized brand. As a premium quick-service restaurant (QSR), the brand prioritizes quality in everything they do: food, presentation, customer service, and restaurant décor.

Fazoli's strives to make you feel like you're in a restaurant in Italy. The company uses an innovative policy of eliminating competition by creating its own category. This has helped the brand stand out in a QSR industry overcrowded with chicken, burgers, and tacos. The brand specializes in favorites like a baked fettuccine alfredo and a smashed meatball breadstick slider.

Apart from striving to offer the best of traditional Italian favorites at a great price and unmatched customer service, the company recognizes franchisees' input in building the brand. The company developed and refined a franchising system that rewards franchisees as much as possible.

What Might Make a Fazoli’s Franchise a Good Choice?

With many conversion requirements relaxed, the company is fairly easy with which to open a franchise. This allows potential franchisees to have the easiest and most cost-friendly path to becoming part of the franchise family. The franchisor offers a concise commitment period and a zero-down franchise fee for the first year in operation. As a new franchisee, the only pre-opening costs levied on you are advertising and training costs.

The typical contract with Fazoli’s lasts for 15 years, with an option to renew if both you and the franchisor wish to continue the relationship.

In addition, Fazoli’s has partnered with third-party sources in order to help franchisees cover the franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, and payroll.

This reduced pricing is largely why the company has become one of the more well-received franchising opportunities in the country. The franchisor prefers candidates that are pre-existing owners or operators of restaurant units.

Unlike other franchise organizations, there is no capital requirement.

How Do You Start a Fazoli’s Franchise?

Start the process of joining Fazoli's franchise family by filling out an information request form. Upon receipt, a Fazoli's franchise development representative may contact you to discuss your interests further.

If Fazoli's sees potential in a partnership with you, you may then receive a Franchise Disclosure Document. Carefully review this document and complete your due diligence in exploring the brand, market, and opportunity. It may also be wise to consult a financial planner and attorney as you explore the franchising process.

Both parties must be in agreement before you proceed to sign your franchise agreement. Once they approve your location, you'll be able to bring casual Italian food to your neighborhood.

Company Overview

About Fazoli's

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Miscellaneous Quick-Service Restaurants, Italian Food
Founded	1988
Parent Company	FAT Brands Inc.
Leadership	Taylor Wiederhorn, Chief Development Officer
Corporate Address	9720 Wilshire Blvd., #500 Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Social	Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1991 (33 years)
# of employees at HQ	335
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US. This company is offering new franchises worldwide.
# of Units	203 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Fazoli's franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$50,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$1,510,500 - $2,399,500
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,500,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$500,000
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	5%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	4%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	15 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Fazoli's has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	280 hours
Classroom Training	20 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes