Franchise Owner Claims It’s "Impossible to Make Money" With Quiznos
A Quiznos owner named “Martin Tate” left a comment on a Quiznos franchise post warning would-be franchisees that Quiznos stores are money-pits and almost certain to fail.
The commenter writes:
“…I must say, as a Quiznos owner, to anyone considering this, don’t do it. The business model makes it impossible to make money.
“I have been at it for 3 and 1/2 years. I am a successful multi unit manage in the retail finance busness, have turnaround managment experience and banking experience. I have analysed this thing upside down, sideways etc. It won’t make money unless you buy for cash and work 80+ hours 7 days a week yourself. Then you might make a small salary.
“The franchisees are closing everywhere and I have even challenged Mr. Deno and Mr. Brenneman to come and ride stores with me to talk to actual owners. No response to that one. I was very impressed when Mr. Brenneman took over. I thought there were changes coming. They sure did. Sales are down with no profits ever.
“I know how to run a business. That is always the Quiznos excuse. The franchisee screwed up, buy delivery, (I did, what a waste) or do local store marketing. (We did, and still do). I look forward this year to financial disaster, bankruptcy, losing my home and retirement and probably my wife due to Quiznos. Let me tell you. THEY DON’T CARE. There is a reason they are all closing and so many don’t make money.
“One last point. I have a CBD store. Up until the holidays when people aren’t working in the downtown area as much, my store LED the region is sales and customer service. If we were the only ones struggling or one of a few I would say it is us. When over half the chain is “financially distressed” maybe it is them.”
What do you think? Are you familiar with the Quiznos franchise? Is it truly that bad of an investment? Share a comment below.
Quiznos franchisee Rich Piotrowski and his wife Ellen Blickman have just won a two-year battle with Quiznos. Interesting story. Check it out:
QUIZNOS: Quiznos Franchisees Celebrate Legal Victory
Judge Hoffman’s Ruling Against Quiznos Franchising II LLC (PDF)
I have seen many Quizno’s deals in the past. The best deals are today on the resale market as sellers are fed up and want to leave the system. Making way for a new franchisee could be the best thing for both buyer and seller. Don’t get me wrong , I am not for seller losing money, but when your back is up against the wall, better to take some money and leave with your dignity in tact and let the new buyer succeed at the lower entry price where the ROI gets more palatable. So regrettably it is the second or third owner who will make it with zero bank financing. Want some hints at proper deal structure for a graceful departure?
mrfranchiseman.com
I have a good employee who owned a Quiznos franchise in Tempe , Az . Approx eight years ago , he hired on with my company and approx 1 year later he advised me that he owned a Quiznos and was having to leave work to work at his shop at night and weekends . His investment was approx 250K and after 2years in business he was losing 2K per month . I considered buying the business from him at a very attractive price . Before making my decision I investigated two other Quiznos franchisees who were in the same situation and were trying to “unload” also . I thoroughly read the “franchise agreement” – it basically is all in favor of the “franchisor” for sure ! Long story but the net result of my investigation was that a Quiznos franchise is at best just buying yourself a low paying job and this is totally dependent on having one of the better locations . The management of Quiznos corporate demonstrated to most I talked to thta they were totally “self serving” towards corporate profits not matter what expense and frustration they put their franchisees thru . Additionally , the franchise agreement I read gave “zero” boundary protection which I found very surprising . Fortunately for me I chose not to get involved – my employee filed for bankruptcy , now makes a 100K plus income working for my company and is very happy to be out of Quiznos . Further , a majority of these franchisees in Arizona are unprofitable and many locations have closed for good (corporate could not sell them to another sucker ! The word is out !
Why is the investment in Quiznos so high? I would expect them to cost about the same as ‘the sub’ to open. What about the latest Quiznos offerings to let people in for $12,000? I was thinking of Quiznos for my son.
In response to Bean and anyone else who may be thinking about buying a Quiznos. DON’T DO IT!!!!! Do some research and you will get a good picture of how bad a business this is. I speak from experience. I just closed my money pit nightmare of a business, if you want to call it a business. the only one who made money was Quiznos Corporation. They have very high food prices, make you give discounts and coupons. Promise you royalty and coupon rebates, then they find a way not to give them to you by finding something that you defaulted on, so as to disqualify your rebate participation. J.ust to give you an idea, in my area there were 17 Quiznos’s two years ago. Of those 5 have completely closed down, 7 have been sold at dirt cheap prices, and the other 5 are trying to sell and a couple of those will probably close down if they cant sell soon. None of them are making a profit as a matter of fact most are losing money. Last year they forced everyone to remodel the interior at an avg cost of $6,000 and it was mandatory or else you get fined evry month until you do it. that was not the first mandatory upgrade in the last couple years. we were also made to change all signs to the new logos 2 years ago, once again an avg of $7000. The corporation keeps trying out new salesevents just about every quarter and you get automatic shipments of the new product regardless if you want it or not, its mandatory and with it comes promotional stuff that gets auto billed to you. they just can’t figure out what they are doing and its always at our expense and their profit because you are forced to pay for it or you get fined. They do store inspections and if you dont get a certain score, guess what you get fined, and they always find something wrong. instead of helping the franchise fix the problems they find, they just stick it to you in form of fines, so once again there go your profits and into their pockets. I seriously think that quzinos is doing a strong effort to force Franchises to close and avoid any litigation of how they do business. SO DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT THIS FRANCHISE, DON’T! I wish someone would have warned me before we bought this nighmare of a business. By the way, I am only describing the quiznos corporation, the independent franchise ownwers are good honest hardworking people who are trying their best to make these franchises work but it is impossible and I truly feel sorry for all of them because all will lose alot of money and maybe their business as did I.
I must admit I have never heard so much negative news on a company that actually has a great product. I have followed Quiznos for several years and I am currently serious considering investing into several available units in my area. Im thinking with a lower cost to entry I could make a few bucks with a product I actually believe in. Am I as dumb as I sound? Somebody enlighten me.
I was also considering it because the cost is manageable . But in my area they are still dropping like flies…. Even at a low cost I’m afraid I won’t get my money back. Stores that were open for years are now closed.
Store 8558 Quiznos liars and thieves
STAY AWAY FROM QUIZNOS. That low buy-in fee ($5000) comes with a harsh price. Your interest rate will be 15% AND you give up 20% of the store profits to Quiznos corporate for giving you the loan. This corporation is bad, bad bad and corrupt, corrupt, corrupt. They own the food and paper supply contracts and will charge you above market prices for your stock. There is no way to be a happy owner working 80 hours a week and making less than $25,000.00 a year. Put your money in a low interest Money Market. You will be waaaaaaaaaay better off than owning a Quiznos store.
I am amazed there are still people who believe in this folks. Franchise Curious, you can hear the death knells for the last standing stores. You have heard from first hand victims; you read all any prospective buyer can ever learn about the kind of money pit this quirk coy is, but you are still hoping for something convincing. Humn! pardon my sloppy sarcasm here – the dog that’ll go astray turns its deaf ears to the owner’s beckoning – Well, I suggest you need to visit one Quiznos in your area and discuss a purchase plan with the owner. If you show some seriousness and probably the low 12.5k deposit, the monthly sales figures will be made available. Take a good look way back into about 9 months. That ought to help your decision or just reread what Marda, Ken P. and the rest have said. My over excited friend bought her store for 75k last year, she said all she’d possibly loose was her 75k. Turns our she has lost over that already. She threw in the towel a month ago. She still doesn’t want to talk about it – Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones.
Sorry about your friend. I have definitely stopped looking at quiznos because of the info on this site; and the failed stores in my area.
Stay away from Quiznos! Google up the franchisee lawsuits against them.
My Story (the short version):
I paid the franchising fees with Triton Subs Inc. the master franchiser back in 2003 or so in N. California and began hunting up sites to open my own Quiznos. At the time, potential spots and cities were wide open.
I’d check on towns, streets, etc. with Triton/Quiznos before heading out to check the real estate and neiborhoods out. Generally the response was “Nobody is looking there yet”. Every time I came up with something extremely promising, it was always “taken” by some other franchisee. Suspicious no? Also a gross violation of the Franchise Agreement…if I could only prove it. Also, a few months in, I found out the top commercial real estate firms/property management firms wouldn’t work with Quiznos. This was via a friend in the industry who was positioned to know such things.
They also tried pushing existing units that were for sale. Every one I checked out was a dog.
They also put me under a LOT of pressure to settle on some horrible sites in second rate locations, out in an isolated airport terminal for hopper flights at Oakland Airport (the cost of setting up in there-outragious), and near the South entrance to the Oakland Colluseum in a new shopping plaza. That would have been fantastic only that they forgot to disclose that the anchor tennant backed out and the developer lost all financial backing. That project still hasn’t been built; I would have been tied into it contractually with Quiznos.
After that one, Quiznos/Triton stopped communicating with me and our Franchise contract finally ran out. I was out $24,000, lots of invested time, etc.
What else? Franchisees were required to use specified vendors for everything from construction, to equipment, to food supplies. NO exceptions. If one ran low on food, tough and there were penalties. The markups were not competitive with other sources, we couldn’t purchase used equipment, etc.
In the end, once I had enough information to really evaluate a Quiznos, it was clear that there wouldn’t be a paycheck for me after everyone else was paid, bills taken care of, etc.
I’ve not walked into a Quiznos since. I’ve seen nearly every Quiznos in my travels either go up for sale or shut down.
This is so true. They don’t care. Force shipments of LTO products in quantities for large store, BOGO offers with little if any reimbursement from corporate, and unfeeling uncaring support spells disaster for small businesses. When I called to ask the procedure for shutting down, they said ” Just lock your doors and walk out. “. They don’t care it was your life savings or that you have to start over in life with less than a high school student. Their business model does not factor in profits for owners. You will never make money. They are stupid, heartless and a bunch of crooks. Locking my doors and walking away was the best thing I have ever done. My only regret is that I ever opened them to begin with. To heck with them.
As a former owner I can tell you that it is impossible to make a profit. Corp., jacked up the prices of the food and told us to keep food costs down which is impossible to do when they have specials that cost us more to make than they were sold for. I even contacted the federal government about Quiznos getting kickbacks from suppliers which is illegal and their response was is that everyone does it. I went bankrupt and lost everything because of Quiznos.
All the Quiznos stores except one are closed in my area.