Start a Tony Roma's Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Ranked #404 last year

Initial investment: $1.8M - $2.9M

Units as of 2024: 57 45% over 3 years

Tony Roma's may be a recognized name in upscale casual dining. Tony Roma’s offers a range of popular dishes, building on the popularity of its baby back ribs with top-secret BBQ sauce, the specialty that initially caught the public's imagination. So popular was the BBQ sauce that Tony Roma's may be known internationally for it.

Tony Roma’s has an interesting business history, starting with a single restaurant in Miami, Florida, in 1972 and opening its first international franchise in Tokyo in 1979. The company is looking to open new franchises nationwide with ten-year renewable contracts.

Since beginning to franchise, Tony Roma’s has opened several locations in the United States and Canada to go along with numerous international locations.

Why You May Want To Start a Tony Roma's Franchise

Tony Roma's core values include great food, friendly service, and comfortable, family-friendly dining. The chain has designed its restaurants with the customer in mind. As such, they offer plenty of outdoor seating, numerous TV screens for sports fans, and spacious bars that may serve a range of draft beers.

Because of this, Tony Roma's prefers franchisees who have experience in the restaurant or hospitality sectors. It wants its franchisees to have a passion for food and the Tony Roma's brand. Potential franchisees should also be good team leaders and have excellent customer service skills.

However, Tony Roma's usually allows for absentee ownership. So, if you don't have the qualifications that the company is looking for in a restaurant manager or hands-on owner/operator, you may be able to open a Tony Roma’s franchise and hire a manager who does.

What Might Make a Tony Roma's Franchise a Good Choice?

Because of its reputation and reach, loyal customers may know what to expect when they walk into a Tony Roma's restaurant. Franchisees are responsible for maintaining the high standards that the customer and Tony Roma's brand expect. Should a franchisee be a hands-on owner, they will manage the day-to-day operations of a busy restaurant. Even an absentee owner should expect to remain updated on their location's daily goings-on.

To be part of the Tony Roma's team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How To Open a Tony Roma's Franchise

The restaurant business is highly competitive. One of the advantages of franchising under a well-known name is the potential edge over the competition. Even so, you should look carefully at other restaurants in your area and make sure that you're confident that there is room for a Tony Roma's franchise in your area.

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement, you must establish if this is the right opportunity for you. As part of your due diligence, you may want to speak to existing franchisees and ask the Tony Roma's franchising team questions. For instance, who are your food purveyors, what kind of training should you put your employees through, and how do you implement new, approved menu items?

If awarded a franchise, Tony Roma’s will typically support you throughout the process.

Company Overview

About Tony Roma's

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Steakhouses, Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants, Food: Full-Service Restaurants
Founded	1972
Parent Company	Romacorp Inc.
Leadership	Mohaimina Haque, CEO
Corporate Address	3662 Avalon Park E. Blvd. Orlando, FL 32828
Social	Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1979 (46 years)
# of employees at HQ	7
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises worldwide. This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Tennessee
# of Units	57 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Tony Roma'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.	$35,000
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.	$1,773,500 - $2,911,000
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.	$1,000,000
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.	4%
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.	2%
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.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

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	472 hours
Classroom Training	21 hours

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
# of employees required to run	60
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