Togo’s Eateries, Inc., a West Coast original since 1971, announced today the formation of a $15 million fund to fuel its development in 2012 and beyond.
The funding is available through a franchisee lending program agreement between Togo's Eateries, Franchise America Finance (FAF) and The Bancorp Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bancorp, Inc.
With this funding, both new and existing qualified Togo’s franchisees will have access to $10 million for remodels and transfers and $5 million to build new restaurants.
"The Togo's brand is expanding into new and existing markets with an improved prototype that we’re confident is going to bring even greater success to both our new and current franchise partners," says Tony Gioia, chairman and CEO, Togo’s Holdings, LLC. "We are especially excited to offer this exclusive fund to our franchise partners enabling them to grow and achieve their business goals."
Togo's experienced an unprecedented year of growth in 2011 with the signing of 23 agreements and the opening of seven new California restaurants, including a company-owned prototype in Pleasant Hill, California.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary last year, the 241-unit company launched a strategic plan for expansion. The plan includes remodeling options for franchisees to refresh existing units while continuing to grow the brand in key growth states including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
In 2012, 26 franchise locations and two corporate restaurants will open and there are plan to remodel 80 existing restaurants.
"We are pleased to have Togo's join the growing brand portfolio at Franchise America Finance," says Ronald Feldman, CEO of FAF. "Through Tony Gioia's leadership, Togo's has a tremendous brand presence and is poised for growth. Providing capital to help foster additional unit development is our mission."
Togo’s traditional restaurants boast one of the strongest sales-to-investment ratios in the sandwich segment, a 2-to-1 sales-to-investment ratio that is driven by its high average unit sales volume of $600,000.
Additionally, 51 percent of Togo’s traditional restaurants operating for a full 12 months in 2010 experienced average unit sales in excess of $600,000, with 25 percent hitting more than $800,000.
With nearly 250 restaurants located in the western U.S., Togo’s is actively recruiting passionate franchisees to bring its high-quality, fresh sandwiches to new Western markets and grow the brand to 400 restaurants by 2015. Togo’s franchisees are typically raving fans of the brand and should be passionate and dedicated to creating a business that relentlessly serves its community and guests.
Candidates looking to own a single restaurant should possess a net worth of $300,000 and a liquidity of $150,000. Area developers looking to invest in three or more restaurants should have a net worth of $900,000 and a liquidity of $450,000. The estimated initial investment to own a Togo’s is between $257,813 and $419,796 with a franchisee fee of $21,000-$30,000.
Togo’s offers both single unit and multi-unit development opportunities in key growth markets in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Interested entrepreneurs can contact Todd Peterson, vice president of franchise sales, at 818-597-9605 or todd.peterson@togos.com, or visit http://www.togosfranchise.com.
