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CiCi’s Pizza Franchise Cost & Fees (2023)
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Have you ever thought of opening a CiCi’s franchise? If so, keep reading this article. In it, we will learn more about this pizza chain that has been growing increasingly, CiCi’s Pizza franchise cost, and franchise fee. CiCi’s is a restaurant that serves an all-you-can-eat buffet and specializes in pizzas, salads, pasta, and dessert buffet.
As one of America’s largest pizza buffet franchises, the chain has more than 600 restaurants in 35 states. Let’s learn more about the franchise, history, initial investment, business model, marketing campaign, food quality, and costs.
CiCi's History (CiCi's Pizza)
The first restaurant was founded by Joe Croce and Mike Cole in 1985. Two years after its opening, they started to open their franchises, offering a buffet service and containing a children’s environment with game room options. The chain has expanded and is currently in more than 600 locations in 35 states and has plans to expand to another 500 areas in the next decade.
CiCi’s Restaurants is one of the largest and fastest-growing pizza restaurant chains and buffet chains and has no significant competitors in its category. CiCi’s benefits from four distinct menus: the custom buffet, take-out orders, buffet service, and a game room.
In 2015, the chain underwent a significant change. The pizzeria was no longer going to be called CiCi’s, but CiCi’s. And they removed the name “Pizza” to show the public that CiCi’s can offer much more than just pizzas. It is also known for its variety of portions of pasta, salads, and dessert buffets. In some places, CiCi’s is also known for its Skee Ball, Pinball, and arcade games. This is why CiCi’s requires some stores to have 3,000 to 4,000 feet.
And franchise owners have three options of arcades from which to choose. But demographic criteria must be considered before a larger unit can be installed. The local residential population must be 40,000 or more and have positive population growth.
The Franchise
The best Cost-Benefit. CiCi’s is much more than a pizza franchise. It offers a wide range of pizza buffets, a great variety of salads, portions of pasta, soups, and fabulous desserts, all at a very affordable and attractive price.
- New image. The CiCi’s of the future is here. The new restaurant design and excellent digital marketing and social media strategy have further increased the brand’s popularity.
- Average volume. More than $ 1 million in average system unit volume.
- Menu. The menu is expanded constantly and always has new features on the menu.
- Distribution. JMC Restaurants Distribution Center – National distribution companies can offer an excellent market value on equipment and products to open and operate your restaurant.
- Advertising. New franchisees will have the executive team of CiCi’s marketing and the flexibility to run their own campaigns in the local market.
- Renovations and Construction. With an excellent reduction of approximately $300.00 in construction costs, the total investment for a new prototype CiCi’s Buffet Restaurant would be under $700,000.
The Franchise Spending Amounts
The CiCi’s Pizza franchise costs $30,000 and an additional $25,000 for each new restaurant. The total investment amount can range from $446,000 to $715,000. The ongoing royalty fee is 4 to 6%, and the franchisees must allocate this amount from their net sales. This will depend a lot on the profitability rate of the store. And they need to contribute a marketing fee of 3% of sales for advertising campaigns.
Therefore, to obtain a CiCi’s franchise, it will be necessary that the interested owner has a credit score of at least 720, liquid capital be than $250,000, and a net worth of three times that amount.
Support, Training, and Backing
- Training: CiCi’s has an excellent training program at the Support Center based in Dallas, Texas. This course will include classroom training and training in one of the stores and in a corporate restaurant. The training time is usually 5 weeks for a more experienced operator. However, additional training may be required at a restaurant in your market.
- Real Estate: You will need to find a local realtor to help you find the franchise location for your restaurant. It is customary to look for a retail restaurant space that is highly visible, approximately 3,200 to 4,000 square feet. That is located in an excellent commercial area that can offer a daytime residential population, retail presence, and other quick-service restaurants. It is recommended that it have a window with drive-thru space.
- Construction: The construction department will support and assist in overseeing the construction process from beginning to end. Because it is essential to find contractors and architects who will do the right job in your restaurant and build it according to the standards CiCi’s imposes.
- Operations: CiCi’s provides dedicated and ongoing support. When you become a franchisee, you will receive a franchise business consultant to help you with whatever is necessary through continuous commercial and operational advice.
- Marketing: Marketing will support the prospective franchisees in all media and marketing development plans throughout the year for new products and sales initiatives. Going from product innovation testing to in-house creation and digital support, as the needs of new owners are a priority for CiCi’s. You will have help from a field marketing expert to offer business counseling when needed.
Other Information
Recently, CiCi’s Business has submitted a $5,000,000 investment program aimed at helping franchisees who want to open multiple franchises simultaneously. Another financing is available for qualified applicants who wish to open fewer units. Still, it can demonstrate their commitment to the brand.
New CiCi’s franchisees must undergo a training program that lasts two months at a particular location in Dallas. This training will be done continuously after the store opening so that they can keep the performance standard of the franchise and the brand at an excellent level.
CiCi’s has been named by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top 25 performance brands. And it also has locations called CiCi’s To Go for customers who prefer to take dinner home and do not wish to dine at the restaurant.
Final Thoughts
So CiCi’s is a modernized, iconic restaurant model that goes beyond the confines of the regular family dining experience. With this franchise, you can take your portfolio to a higher level. With many recipe options, several new restaurant projects, and off-site options, CiCi’s is continuously evolving in the industry.
We hope that this article has been helpful, has answered all your questions, and that you can understand how this franchise opportunity works. So now is the time to allow yourself to build your days on what really matters to you.
Paul Martinez is the founder of EcomSidekick.com. He is an expert in the areas of finance, real estate, eCommerce, traffic and conversion.
Join him on EcomSidekick.com to learn how to improve your financial life and excel in these areas. Before starting this media site, Paul built from scratch and managed two multi-million dollar companies. One in the real estate sector and one in the eCommerce sector.