Start a Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N' Joe Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #415 Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $1.1M - $4.3M

Units as of 2024: 26 7% over 3 years

In 1960 in Portland, Oregon, Walt and Dorothy Elmer opened a restaurant built on Walt's buttermilk pancake recipe named Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe. Much to their surprise and satisfaction, the restaurant was an absolute success. The franchise still uses their original pancake recipe.

In 1982, Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe began to franchise. As a result, they expanded their menu to include lunch and dinner options. The company opened the Egg N' Joe portion of the restaurant in 2016.

Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe strives to serve customers great-tasting food in a family-friendly, warm environment. There are over one dozen franchises in select states throughout the United States.

Why You May Want To Start an Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe Franchise

The ideal franchisee for Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe has experience operating a restaurant. This requirement is especially true for the general manager and kitchen manager.

Prior restaurant experience aside, franchisees typically need to have good leadership skills, excellent time management skills, and solid organization skills. They should prepare to be involved in the day-to-day operation of their Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe franchise, as well. Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe is not something a franchisee can usually run from a distance or in a semi or fully-absentee-owner manner.

What Might Make an Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe Franchise a Good Choice?

Through the Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe brand, franchisees can choose to open an Elmer's Restaurants or Egg N' Joes. Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while Egg N' Joes puts its focus solely on the breakfast and lunch crowd. In select markets, franchisees can choose to open a single-restaurant location. However, franchisees also have the option of opening more than one location.

Opening an Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe franchise could offer a more predictable outcome than investing in a completely new brand that may struggle to thrive in an already crowded and competitive industry.

To be part of the Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe 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 fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How To Open an Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe Franchise

As you decide if opening an Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe franchise is the right move for you, make sure you take time to explore the opportunity. Research the brand and your local area to see if an Elmer's Restaurants franchise would do well in your community. While competition is healthy, too much of it may not allow for the most possible growth.

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement with Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe, it is crucial that you perform your due diligence and establish if this is the right opportunity for you. As part of your due diligence, you may want to speak to existing franchisees and ask the Elmer's Restaurants franchising team questions.

Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe franchisees typically receive a great deal of support from the Elmer's Restaurants brand throughout the franchising process if awarded a franchise. In addition to pre-opening training, Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe franchisees receive support through brand awareness, marketing, research, and construction. Potential Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe franchisees also receive hands-on training and continued support after their franchise location has opened.

Company Overview

About Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N' Joe

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Breakfast/Brunch Restaurants, Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants
Founded	1960
Parent Company	Elmer's Restaurants Inc.
Leadership	Jerry Scott, President
Corporate Address	1111 Main St., #400 Vancouver, WA 98660
Social	Facebook, Instagram

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1982 (43 years)
# of employees at HQ	16
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	26 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Elmer's Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N' Joe 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.	$40,000
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.	$1,106,450 - $4,295,425
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$600,000 - $2,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$300,000 - $800,000
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.	4%
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.	1%
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.	15 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

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	201 hours
Classroom Training	43 hours
Ongoing Support	Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing

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
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