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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Steak n Shake announced a plan Monday to dramatically change its franchising model.
The company said it wants to convert company-operated restaurants into single-unit franchisee-operated restaurants by offering “franchise partnerships” for $10,000 each.
The Steak n Shake chain consists of about 415 company-owned and 201 franchised locations. Under the new franchising plan, “franchise partners” will be able to pay an initial fee of $10,000 to take over full-time operation of an existing corporate-owned restaurant.
Steak n Shake said those interested individuals must be free of other active business ventures and successfully complete an extensive six-month training program.
“I started my company with $15,000 and built a thriving enterprise,” said Sardar Biglari, CEO of Biglari Holdings, the parent of Steak n Shake, in a written statement. “I want to provide an opportunity to other entrepreneurs who are highly motivated to excel but lack the financial means. What will be important to become a franchisee is not great capital but great ability. We are seeking to harness the power of entrepreneurs and to create a company of owners.”
Steak n Shake said “franchise partners” will earn 50 percent of the profit at the restaurant they oversee. The partners “capable of running the day-to-day business, no absentee ownership,” restaurant officials said.
The restaurant chain’s current franchising model calls for franchisees to pay a franchise fee ranging from $25,000 to $40,000 as part of an initial investment that varies from about $672,000 to more than $1.8 million per unit, depending on the size and location of the restaurant.
Those franchisees, however, have ownership stakes in their properties. The new franchise partners will not.
In its latest annual report, Biglari Holdings said it was interested in extending the Steak n Shake brand through franchising. “The expansion plans include seeking qualified new franchisees and expanding relationships with current franchisees,” the company said.
Steak n Shake has added more than 70 franchises since the end of 2014 while the number of company-owned stores has remained flat. In Indiana, 68 of Steak Shake's 72 restaurants are company-owned.
In recent years, the company has had legal squabbles with franchisees who say it is difficult to be profitable under the franchisor’s menu-pricing requirements.
Steaks of Virginia LLC, which has nine restaurants, filed a lawsuit in April that said Steak n Shake was breaking its franchise and development agreements by not allowing it to set its own menu prices.
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Huh
To who may concern or can help me out My name is Gazment Bektesoska I am interested to partner with steak and shake. I will like to talk to someone to see what is my options becoming a partnership with Steak and Shake I am very interested please please help me get a hold of them my phone number is 217 671 6464 please give me a call.
Biglari was going to charge $20,000, but as he’s planning to only half restaurants[1], he figured he’d only charge half as much.
[1] Biglari said because half of the business comes from drive-thru & pickup/walkup, they’d get rid of the remainder.
Granted, that means 1 – 1/2 => means half of the business comes from sitdown. But that also means they have to pay attention and give service to patrons.
IBJ MONITOR: Get rid of the #$U&*#$# “Recommended” popup in the lower right or give us the ability to turn it off. Your IS department is dangerously screwing with your online presence by adding it, and abolishing DISQUS for something which looks like someone read a Dummies book and wrote it in a couple of hours. Perhaps if your “team” were to look at the pieces of the screen as widgets which can be managed instead of looking at the entire screen as one big widget, there’d be more flexibility for US (we pay your bills) – as such, the customer is always right.
December 17, 2019 at 2:13 pm
To who may concern or can help me out My name is Gazment Bektesoska I am interested to partner with steak and shake. I will like to talk to someone to see what is my options becoming a partnership with Steak and Shake I am very interested please please help me get a hold of them my phone number is 217 671 6464 please give me a call
Really ? Get a life