There’s a lot of hype in the world of the better quick-dining chains — or what the industry calls “fast casual†restaurants. Franchisors like to dazzle prospective franchise owners at “Discovery Day†events and promise that if they put their all into the system, they’ll be successful.
But what matters to a franchise owner of one of these brands is this: What’s the return on my investment going to be?
It’s long been hard to figure out what sort of return a fast-food restaurant offers, unless you expend some shoe leather and go talk to a lot of current franchise owners. Franchisors can’t make any promises, by law, on how well your individual restaurant will fare.