Has anybody had any expierence with a Garlic Jims. I’m curious if they are worth looking into. Are their fee’s in line with the profit. Do you have any freedom on advertising or is it all through them? Are they good people and represent themselves honestly? Is it something you would do again.
Thanks for your input.
Russell,
The only thing I know about Garlic Jim’s is what I read in the trade magazines. I hear they’re AWUS is about $14k and they’re expanding quite rapidly. They’re relatively identical to the operation I’m affiliated with.
-J_r0kk
5.5% of total sales for royalty and 2.5% for national advertising. That’s 8% of total sales wiped away right off the bat. Who cares if YOU make any money, they will!
However, I think their website gives the recipe to success in costs to open.
Opening Inventory $3,000 - $5,000
Opening marketing $13,000 - $20,000
Opening Inventory isn’t overly inflated, so it really means the stuff you need for the first week or two. Look at “opening” marketing. I’d bet if an indy spent that kind of money for OPENING marketing, the sales would be pretty great right out of the chute.
Comments anyone?
Oh, and J_r0kk, what percentage does your franchisor take off the top and do you see any savings in COGS from their buying power?
Snow,
It’s not quite a wash, but close. We pay 4% royalties. The savings from USFoods is about 2%… numbers I can live with. Plus, the owner of Wheat State Pizza, Inc. has been one of my best friends for about 10 years, back when we were managers at Papa John’s together.
-J_r0kk
Make sure to read the UFOC and see the franchise failure rate, the ones in my neck of the woods arent faring well, one closed last month.
I think they are very very overpriced for the product. I have purchased the product in the past but that was with some discounts. I dont see value in paying 30 bucks for one large and one medium pizza no matter if they use Grande or not.
I think they are a good looking franchise and the design is impressive but I dont see them creating the volume necessary to offset their higher cost of goods and the small niche they are servicing.
For me a Jims is only good in a higher average earning community, with a median or low prices market Jims has very little chance at succeeding.
For any body thinking of Garlic Jims, do your home work. I owned 2 in Arizona both of which failed. Now you could say it was me that failed and I did not know what I was doing. The first store in Peoria was sold back to the Corporate entity and never made money. The second store in Ahwatukee which originally opened big also failed. You could also say that well maybe that was just the way it is. That does not account for the other 4 stores in Arizona that also failed. 6 opened and 6 failed. 100% failure. Not what I would call a success story. Stores that have opened in Calif, Oregon and Washington have closed also. Some lawsuits were also being talked about. It also appears that Jet city Pizza (Seattle) has infused Garlic Jims with money to keep it afloat. From a franchise that had expanded to almost 60 stores to 31 is not to good. Also big deals that were signed for groups that had planned to open multiple stores have been canceled. The pizza on the other hand is pretty good. Having said all of this costs are on the high end and many people are more interested in the lower cost of the big guy pizzas. A tough road unless you live in ritzville.
Thanks for the heads up. Hearing about challenges of a the franchises out there can be big news for new venture guys coming here.
Take this in the spirit of playfulness that it is meant . . . . . this could be a record for resurrecting a three-year old thread 
Props to j_r0kk . … . hoping his life is satisfying and fruitful.
Hiya Nick. Of course my life is satisfying and fruitful: I’m still breathing. And as long as I’m still breathing I’m making the most of it.
I was surprised to see this old post pop up. At first I thought to myself, “Who stole my name?!” Then, of course, I saw the date of the post. Anyway, everything’s great down here. I’ve moved back to my home state of Louisiana and loving life. Every now and then I poke my head in here to see what’s happening with the industry. Two years removed from the business however, seems like an eternity, and any advice would be outdated… so I’ll let you guys handle it.
Didn’t mean to hijack your post bobsterbailey. Just wanted to say hi to my old buddy Nick.