Start a Chop Stop Franchise in 2024

2024 Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Ranked #354 last year

Initial investment: $375K - $699K

Units as of 2022: 25 78.6% over 3 years

Chop Stop is a California-based quick-service restaurant chain that specializes in offering creative, unique salad combinations. It also offers rice and bean bowls, as well as wraps. The franchise is built from the fast-growing concept of healthy eating and has found its niche with customers. Chop Stop has a unique, health-oriented salad menu customers can customize to their liking.

Chop Stop opened its first restaurant in California, in 2010, and began franchising in 2015. There are now over one dozen Chop Stop locations in the United States.

Customers may rave about Chop Stop salad bowls, describing them as garden-fresh, nutritious, and filling. They are ideal for when consumers want to grab a quick, healthy bite on the go.

Why You May Want to Start a Chop Stop Franchise

A qualified franchisee should be a healthy, nutritious foods enthusiast who can capitalize on the increasing consumers' desire for convenient but healthy meals. A franchisee must also have the minimum capital requirement and will likely have to establish the business in California, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Utah, or Colorado. These locations have better access to corporate support services.

Chop Stop has been ranked in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 multiple times in recent years. This ranking is based on an evaluation of more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability.

What Might Make a Chop Stop Franchise a Good Choice?

New franchises may enjoy instant brand recognition and quickly garner a customer base when they open a Chop Stop franchise. Chop Stop has minimal space requirements, only needing the capacity to store the veggies and a surface to prepare the salads. Your contractual responsibility as a franchisee would be to find a location, lease the site, hire and train your employees, and uphold the Chop Stop standards of business.

To be part of the Chop Stop team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal. A typical franchise agreement runs for ten years. Franchisees may be allowed to renew their agreement if they meet the Chop Stop requirements.

How To Open a Chop Stop Franchise

Before you open a Chop Stop franchise, check the size of your local customer base, and find a location with enough foot traffic to garner the type of business you'd hope to achieve. Also, consider the skills you would need in the workforce and whether the specific talents are locally available.

In return, Chop Stop headquarters, which is located in La Crescenta, California, may help franchisees with site selection, lease negotiation, field operations, email marketing, co-op advertising, and provide an intranet software platform. Honorably discharged veterans may receive a discount off their initial franchise fee should they qualify.

Lastly, come prepared with any questions to ask during your initial meeting with the Chop Stop franchise representative. You may also benefit from speaking to current Chop Stop franchisees.

Company Overview

About Chop Stop

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Salads, Miscellaneous Quick-Service Restaurants
Founded	2010
Leadership	Mark Kulkis, CEO
Corporate Address	2626 Foothill Blvd., #230 La Crescenta, CA 91214
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2015 (9 years)
# of employees at HQ	9
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	25 (as of 2022)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Chop Stop franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$35,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$375,000 - $699,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$175,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	Up to $10,000 off franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	5%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	0.5%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Chop Stop has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	177 hours
Classroom Training	63 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Grand Opening Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Social Media SEO Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
# of employees required to run	20-25
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes