FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FRANCHISING

What do I get as a Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ franchisee?

Joining the Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ team gives you a great opportunity to own your own business – a proven business. You are in business for yourself, not by yourself. We offer you operations and marketing support, training programs, ongoing learning for owners and staff, store development assistance, design support, lease negotiations, and much more. 

How much is the franchise fee?

The initial franchise fee is $35,000 for a standalone Cheese Curds® restaurant, $50,000 for a combination Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ restaurant.

How much are royalty and advertising fees?

Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ franchisees pay 6% of sales (gross sales excluding sales tax) to the franchisor every month – 5% goes towards franchise royalties and 1% goes towards the national advertising fund. An additional 1% of sales is required to be set aside for local advertising initiatives.
 

How much does it cost to open a Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ restaurant?

The initial investment varies depending on restaurant size, build-out costs, location, etc. but is estimated to fall within the $515,000-$670,000 range for a standalone Cheese Curds® restaurant, or between the $670,000-$870,000 for a combination Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ restaurant. This includes the restaurant furnishings and equipment, location build-out, opening inventory, point-of-sale system, and estimated working capital to open.

Can I open a standalone Habaneros™ franchise?

We are not franchising standalone Habaneros™ restaurants at this time.

How much money will I make?

We cannot provide information concerning actual or potential sales or income as actual results will vary from restaurant to restaurant depending on the market. We will work on the financial projections with each franchisee to ensure there is a reasonable expectation of profit in the prospective location before committing to it.

Will I receive training?

Of course! Once you are approved as a franchisee and have a location selected, you will come to our head office and training kitchen in Halifax, Nova Scotia for a few weeks of initial training, which will include both classroom and hands-on training in our kitchen. Just before your location is ready to open, our trainers will go to your restaurant for more last minute training and grand opening support. We will stay with you until we are both comfortable that the restaurant is running smoothly.

Who will build my restaurant?

We have detailed blueprints of our store design that we will tailor to your location size and configuration and we have two options for restaurant build-outs: 

1 - Build-to-Order: Construction will be built to our exact specifications but you will oversee the project - with assistance and approvals along the way from us.

2 - Turn-Key: We will manage the entire build-out process and upon completion we will turn the keys over to you.  A management fee (%) would be applied to the cost of the project.

Do I have to negotiate the lease for my location?

We are involved in the lease negotiations with you and we will make sure the lease terms are favourable and reasonable for the market.

Do I have to order supplies from your vendor?

We require all franchisees order most food and many supplies from our approved vendors. This ensures all Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ restaurants have consistent, high quality food, while allowing maximum savings through volume ordering. 

Cheese Curds®/Habaneros™ negotiates the lowest costs for goods and services while maintaining quality standards and ensuring the best value for our franchisees.

Do you offer financing?

We do not provide financing but we do have relationships with lending and leasing institutions that are excited about partnering with our franchisees. We would be happy to introduce them to you.

How do I get started?

We are always happy to accept applications from potential franchisees. Fill in the on-line form below and it will be directed to one of our franchising representatives who will get back to you very shortly.  We’re looking forward to hearing from you!