Start a The Lost Cajun Franchise in 2024

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $253K - $699K

Units as of 2020: 24 100.0% over 3 years

The Lost Cajun is a restaurant that serves carefully cooked Cajun cuisine. Why is the Cajun lost, you ask? The owner and founder, Raymond Griffin, is from Louisiana, but moved from the semi-tropical south to the mountains of Colorado.

Griffin opened his first restaurant in 2010 and started to franchise in 2013. The Lost Cajun menu includes such favorites as gumbo, red beans, and rice, crawfish etouffee, and lobster bisque.

Since beginning to franchise in 2013, The Lost Cajun has opened over 20 franchises in the United States.

Why You May Want To Start a The Lost Cajun Franchise

The Lost Cajun opportunity may best suit an ambitious, friendly, and hard-working person who is a good team leader and motivator. Potential franchisees will likely not need experience in the restaurant business. The Lost Cajun typically values personality, work ethic, and relevant managerial experience over direct restaurant ownership.

The Lost Cajun franchisees should expect to manage the restaurant's day-to-day operations and ensure that the business is maintaining the high standards that customers expect at The Lost Cajun.

Cajun food may have an international reputation. Nevertheless, quality Cajun cooking may be hard to come by in many areas. This may give your restaurant the advantage of meeting an unsatisfied demand.

What Might Make a The Lost Cajun Franchise a Good Choice?

The Lost Cajun doesn't serve fast food. For one, a gumbo takes hours to make. Secondly, the franchise's kitchen staff carefully prepares all the food. For customers who are new to Cajun cooking, the restaurant offers free samples. The atmosphere in a The Lost Cajun franchise may be informal and friendly and should be a family restaurant that builds a loyal, customer base. Because of this, the business model may be simple to understand—well-cooked, quality ingredients plus excellent service means a satisfied customer.

To be part of The Lost Cajun 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 fees and royalty fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How To Open a The Lost Cajun Franchise

There may not be a Cajun restaurant in your chosen area, but there will almost certainly be stiff competition from other outlets. You should be certain that you are sure there is a market for your potential Lost Cajun franchise. Also, you will probably need between over one dozen staff members to run your business.

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement with The Lost Cajun, it is crucial that you perform your due diligence and 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 Lost Cajun franchising team questions.

The Lost Cajun usually thoroughly prepares its franchisees and continues to offer comprehensive support once your restaurant is open. Ten-year, renewable Lost Cajun franchises are available in a wide range of locations and are in exclusive territories.

Company Overview

About The Lost Cajun

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants, Seafood Restaurants
Founded	2010
Parent Company	The Lost Cajun Enterprises LLC
Leadership	Raymond Griffin, Founder
Corporate Address	P.O. Box 1818 Frisco, CO 80443
Social	Facebook, Instagram

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2013 (11 years)
# of employees at HQ	7
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US.
# of Units	24 (as of 2020)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a The Lost Cajun 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.	$40,000
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.	$252,600 - $698,500
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.	$500,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$250,000
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.	6%
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.	1%
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

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	The Lost Cajun has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, 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	100 hours
Classroom Training	43 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates 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
# of employees required to run	20-30
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