ENTREE VOUS: Broomfield, CO Franchise "Adventure" to Close

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• My opinion sponsored by the letter "Que pasa se huh?"... I am so ahead on this Obama thing to speak Spanish!
  uh hum,
  This just in (click, click, click)
  Actually the "revised" number from our "friends" at the Easy Meal Association is 1176 stores open -down some 200 from just a month ago. I wouldn't beleive that number either.
  Interesting that EMPA keeps getting face-lifts on its website-ever the optomist...
  A great little piece written by a consumer Elana Centor on blogher-anyone intersted in her post can go to http://www.blogher.com and search for meal assembly.
  It certainly puts to rest that this is a concept on the rise, from the CONSUMERS perspective.
  EASY MEAL PREP/ASSEMBLY/KITCHEN OUTSOURC/ HOME MEAL REPLACEMENT/KITCHEN STUDIO SCORE CARD:
  Sociale Gourmet is down to 10 stores
  CENA-down to 7
  Supper Thyme USA-down to 15
  Dream Dinners - down to under 200-it's so hard to assess them because they "hide" closed stores.
  Super Suppers-lots for sale, down to 130 ish.
  Those numbers in some cases represent a drop of over 50% in stores still in business.
  That doesn't include those stores still opened that are not earnign enough to even pay the owners of the store a salary, but are just waiting for their "leases" to run out before they "shutter the doors Helen!"
  This industry reminds me of todays banking industry-only there is no Federal Government to bail them out!

• You also should check your numbers - I know they're wrong for at least one of the franshises. Closures are grossly estimated as well. I went to Cena's site and counted 19 left.

• It's hard to tell how many are open, the Cena location list is so crappy. Are there even addresses, or phone numbers for the locations?

  There are 20 Cena to Go locations total listed in these states:

  CA - 5
  CO - 1
  FL - 1
  GA - 2
  LA - 1
  MA - 1
  NC - 1
  NJ - 2
  NY - 1
  OR - 1
  PA - 1
  VA - 1
  WA - 1

  Alberta - 1

  Can anyone confirm that these are open? Looks like Myrtle Beach, SC, Murrysville, PA and Frederick, MD are a few of the casualties

• If you look at the distribution of these franchises, you'll see another major problem with the expansion of meal prep chains- Either they do not understand or choose to disregard the importance of clustering units and expanding out concentrically. How can anyone get name recognition or advertising efficiencies if there's one unit per state?

• They are all open. There are actually five in California. I have been doing my own research - looking into buying, and it seems like most are open, with the exception of Virginia getting ready to close.

• Karen:
  Are you looking into buying an existing store or opening a new one?
  Were you considering used equipment (VAs)?
  I'm just curious as to why you're considering this troubled concept... especially with the burden of franchise fees and royalties... unless your were considering opening an independent.

• Karen you're right., I missed a "1" in front of the 7 for CENA. OOPS, my bad!
  I'm curious as well as to why you would want to get involved in this industry if you've been doing research.
  I will have to disagree with your opinion that the closures are over-exaggerated.
  In my opinion they are under-exaggerated. Most stores don't post on their websites they are closing, they just close-then it's up to the individual HQ's to take them off the active roster.
  If you have done your research you will find that there are lots of stores listed as active or open that have no calendar or when you click on the menu it just returns to the home page. In my opinion that gives people like you a false sense of the health of the company.
  If you have been researching this industry you should have noticed the wild swing of closures in the last 2 years-check out a website called http://www.mealassemblywatch.com for true stories of people that have found themselves in financial ruin. Some are even second generation owners of stores who bought them from the original owners. They are not faring any better than the original owners.
  It certainly is your choice to buy or not to buy, but why grouse when someone gives you information that is counter to what you want to believe?
  At this point for this industry in my opinion anyone who buys is just on brick shy of a full-load.
  In my opinion-The economy is in the tank and food prices are going crazy, what makes anyone think getting into the food business right now is a good thing?

• I warn anyone wanting to open a meal assembly business to prepare to lose their investment. Franchises will sell a pretty picture and a growing industry when in reality it is the opposite. I know too franchisees in this industry who are struggling to pay the rent, let alone overhead. No matter how little business someone has it is still alot of work, so in reality you are losing money and killing yourself in the process. In the end you will just have debt. When you lose the equity in your home you will regret believing those slick talking sales guys. If you are in the process of signing on the dotted line don't go through with it. You will lose the franchise fee only and not your entire life savings. I said my peace. Believe it or not it's your money.

• You know, Joe, I feel bad for those who got swept up in all this in the beginning.
  And I give franchisors the benefit of the doubt for selling franchises when it seemed to be risky but viable (at least to them - I never saw the appeal).
  However, any franchisor selling these things now - with all the problems - is just a con artist and a thief, IMHO.

  And anyone stupid enough to buy one of these losers at this point - with all the warnings and failures - probably deserves to be separated from their money.

  If you think you can make this work while all these others are failing, you are either delusional or arrogant or, if you're a MAK franchisor, both.

• I think that there are a lot of stores that have failed - for various reasons, including signing up with franchisors with no real experience in the food business. And there are quite a few who are actually doing well, even in this economy. The folks that are doing well aren't participating in the internet bashing. That's part of the research as well.

  I don't believe everything I hear or read, especially on blogs. You have to question everything, even the"unhappy franchisee". I don't think the entrees- to-go idea is a bad one. Meal Assembly may have run its course, but take and bake is hear to stay - ask Papa Murphys. If it can evolve to that kind of model, I think it might be doable.

  Cena particularly, because their food doesn't appear to be glorified casseroles. I think that sessions are a thing of the past, which is why you don't see many sessions available.

  Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater - if you know what I mean. Just cuz the original idea didn't work doesn't mean it couldn't be adjusted a little. Companies morph to to stay afloat and to stay current. Very few successful businesses are still in their first incarnation - why do MAK's have to stay the same? So it was a rocky idea? It was a fad - it doesn't mean there's no hope. I'm glad you guys aren't in charge.

  Businesses are closing right and left in this economy - not just MAK's. Except Costco. I fear Costco will be around forever.