For many restaurant franchisees, finding prime real estate for their new locations can be one of the bigger hurdles. Costing time, money and effort, navigating the competitive real estate market can be a hindrance, but innovative franchisees are leveraging strategic alternatives. For example, Wisconsin Layne’s Chicken Fingers franchisees Josh and Lucas Bergeson chose to convert an underperforming restaurant location into a Layne’s, saving time and substantially increasing the revenue potential of the establishment.
For Layne’s franchisees, this can be a viable development strategy. Whether the previously underperforming location was owned by a separate party and acquired by the Layne’s franchisee, or an entrepreneur chooses to pivot to Layne’s to revive an existing investment, the brand is a great fit for business owners looking to build thriving businesses in previously underperforming areas.
“Especially in markets where prime real estate isn’t abundant, we’ve started looking for really good locations that are currently occupied by failing restaurants or tired brands like Fazoli’s,” Lucas said. “The location that we identified for our next Layne’s restaurant is in the outlot of a Target at a really busy intersection.”
Instead of waiting for new construction opportunities, the Bergesons chose to proactively seek our existing restaurant spaces. This approach requires careful thought and attention to detail. Even if an existing restaurant is not doing well, that does not mean it’s a bad site. The challenges could be solely due to the brand in question, or there could be minor changes necessary to turn the building itself into a prime spot. Approaching the situation with a level head can yield great results.
“We had identified this location that had potential, so we had our real estate broker reach out to the landlord,” Lucas said. “It turned out that Fazoli’s had expressed interest in exiting the lease early. Between us and the landlord, we gave them some money to leave early, and we took over from there.”
Josh notes that the decision was highly data-driven.
“We knew the market. All of the analytics and numbers fell into place,” he said. “It’s on a busy intersection, outlot of a Target, off a major interstate… it hits all the spots you want. The numbers said it’d be a great location.”
While there are costs associated with acquiring and converting an existing building, the financial advantages can be substantial.
“All in all, it was still probably a little bit cheaper than brand new construction,” Josh said.
“We’re going to save about $100,000 in build-out costs by being able to reuse fixtures and whatnot,” Lucas added. “And we were able to get a much lower rent than we’ll ever see again. If developers buy new land, it’s so much more expensive now with inflation, plus the construction and labor costs associated with building, which are all factored into the rent.”
Even for conversions that require a substantial investment, the opportunity to get into business more quickly, and often under better terms, is still a great benefit.
“You could look at it as the opportunity cost,” Lucas said. “Usually, these deals take 12 to 24 months from the time you say ‘I like that spot’ to getting constructed, trained and opened. That’s a lot of revenue not realized by not pulling the trigger.”
“What we’re seeing with the Fazoli’s conversion in Wisconsin is a perfect example of intelligent expansion,” said Layne’s Chief Operating Officer Samir Wattar. “By targeting underperforming restaurants in strong locations, our franchisees can accelerate their growth timeline while reducing their initial investment costs. And for owners of these spaces interested in converting themselves, Layne’s offers proven operations and a strong menu that can maximize the potential of a space in a way other brands just can’t.”
For both existing Layne’s franchisees seeking sites and current owners of these underperforming businesses looking to make a change, the conversion program helps entrepreneurs make the most of a real estate investment, shorten the ramp-up period and begin making money more quickly with a brand that has proven its strength in markets nationwide.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers.
Layne's Chicken Fingers
SPONSORED
The Soon to be FamousTM chicken finger franchise’s conversion program offers a pathway forward for transforming underperforming businesses on high-potential sites.
For many restaurant franchisees, finding prime real estate for their new locations can be one of the bigger hurdles. Costing time, money and effort, navigating the competitive real estate market can be a hindrance, but innovative franchisees are leveraging strategic alternatives. For example, Wisconsin Layne’s Chicken Fingers franchisees Josh and Lucas Bergeson chose to convert an underperforming restaurant location into a Layne’s, saving time and substantially increasing the revenue potential of the establishment.
For Layne’s franchisees, this can be a viable development strategy. Whether the previously underperforming location was owned by a separate party and acquired by the Layne’s franchisee, or an entrepreneur chooses to pivot to Layne’s to revive an existing investment, the brand is a great fit for business owners looking to build thriving businesses in previously underperforming areas.
“Especially in markets where prime real estate isn’t abundant, we’ve started looking for really good locations that are currently occupied by failing restaurants or tired brands like Fazoli’s,” Lucas said. “The location that we identified for our next Layne’s restaurant is in the outlot of a Target at a really busy intersection.”
Instead of waiting for new construction opportunities, the Bergesons chose to proactively seek our existing restaurant spaces. This approach requires careful thought and attention to detail. Even if an existing restaurant is not doing well, that does not mean it’s a bad site. The challenges could be solely due to the brand in question, or there could be minor changes necessary to turn the building itself into a prime spot. Approaching the situation with a level head can yield great results.
“We had identified this location that had potential, so we had our real estate broker reach out to the landlord,” Lucas said. “It turned out that Fazoli’s had expressed interest in exiting the lease early. Between us and the landlord, we gave them some money to leave early, and we took over from there.”
Josh notes that the decision was highly data-driven.
“We knew the market. All of the analytics and numbers fell into place,” he said. “It’s on a busy intersection, outlot of a Target, off a major interstate… it hits all the spots you want. The numbers said it’d be a great location.”
While there are costs associated with acquiring and converting an existing building, the financial advantages can be substantial.
“All in all, it was still probably a little bit cheaper than brand new construction,” Josh said.
“We’re going to save about $100,000 in build-out costs by being able to reuse fixtures and whatnot,” Lucas added. “And we were able to get a much lower rent than we’ll ever see again. If developers buy new land, it’s so much more expensive now with inflation, plus the construction and labor costs associated with building, which are all factored into the rent.”
Even for conversions that require a substantial investment, the opportunity to get into business more quickly, and often under better terms, is still a great benefit.
“You could look at it as the opportunity cost,” Lucas said. “Usually, these deals take 12 to 24 months from the time you say ‘I like that spot’ to getting constructed, trained and opened. That’s a lot of revenue not realized by not pulling the trigger.”
“What we’re seeing with the Fazoli’s conversion in Wisconsin is a perfect example of intelligent expansion,” said Layne’s Chief Operating Officer Samir Wattar. “By targeting underperforming restaurants in strong locations, our franchisees can accelerate their growth timeline while reducing their initial investment costs. And for owners of these spaces interested in converting themselves, Layne’s offers proven operations and a strong menu that can maximize the potential of a space in a way other brands just can’t.”
For both existing Layne’s franchisees seeking sites and current owners of these underperforming businesses looking to make a change, the conversion program helps entrepreneurs make the most of a real estate investment, shorten the ramp-up period and begin making money more quickly with a brand that has proven its strength in markets nationwide.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers.
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