Fazoli’s franchisees continued to report record sales growth for July, with average unit volumes exceeding $1 million. Franchise operators’ sales have been up consistently for more than five years, with increases in 61 of the last 64 months. In July, franchise sales were up 4.9 percent year-over-year, on a 3.9 percent jump in traffic. Since April, 45 franchise sales records have been set. Fazoli’s average unit volume for franchised locations is consistently over the $1 million mark.
“There’s a new energy in the concept and there’s never been a better time to join Fazoli’s as a franchisee,” says Mark Crayne, managing partner of PastaQuik, which owns six restaurants in Texas. “We have a better menu than we’ve ever had, and we still give a great value.”
“Fazoli’s is in a great position to rapidly grow,” says Carl Howard, president and CEO since 2008. “There’s tremendous interest in fast-casual concepts, and we are the only Italian player. That, combined with our unit economics, makes Fazoli’s really stand out from the crowd.” Fazoli’s was acquired last month by Sentinel Capital Partners, which looks to expand the brand’s footprint through franchising. An aggressive franchise development program that will include incentives for new and current operators is currently being finalized and will be launched early next month. A number of existing and new markets will be targeted.
