Rosati's Pizza (Rosati's Pizza Enterprises)

The restaurant business is highly competitive, especially if you plan to open a new pizza joint in your local area. But you don’t have to build up a brand from nothing; instead, you can start a Rosati’s Pizza franchise business and give yourself an immediate business advantage.

Rosati’s Pizza offers authentic Chicago-style pizza and Italian food, and it has been one of the most popular pizza brands in the restaurant franchise industry for decades.

Rosati’s Pizza brings years of experience in all things pizza, from deep dish to thin crust to its overall brand and new franchisees, making it the perfect partner if you want to invest in yourself and provide delicious pizza to hungry eaters for years to come.

Of course, you need to know whether a Rosati’s Pizza franchise is a wise investment. Keep reading for a closer look.

Why should you start a Rosati’s Pizza franchise?

There’s much to like about the Rosati’s Pizza franchise opportunity, starting with a long history of successful pizza cooking.

When you become a Rosati’s Pizza franchisee, you'll benefit from the brand and immediate marketing leg-up that Rosati's brings. That extra brand recognition will help you get hungry diners in your franchised location sooner rather than later.

You may also like running an Italian-inspired Chicago pizza joint with dine-in and carryout options.

Franchise owners here enjoy high gross sales, a training program in Schaumburg, Illinois and a menu they can be proud of, including pizzas, sports pub fare and pasta – all made from the original Rosati family recipes.

Perhaps more importantly, Rosati’s Pizza has a tried-and-tested system to help you succeed as a new small business entrepreneur. This includes extensive marketing training and two to four weeks of on-site operations training.

Furthermore, Rosati’s Pizza has established relationships with various financing and supply vendors. As a result, you won’t have any difficulty securing the liquid capital you need to start your new pizza franchise. You’ll also be able to stock your franchise with excellent ingredients routinely.

As part of the International Franchise Association, the Pizza Industry Council and the National Restaurant Association, Rosati’s Pizza has the extensive experience and know-how you need to succeed as a business owner.

With Rosati’s Pizza’s support resources and guidance, you can successfully run a pizza restaurant even if you don’t have much business experience yet.

That said, remember that Rosati’s Pizza seeks highly qualified individuals to become future franchisees. That means if you have sales experience or, even better, experience running a restaurant in your past, you’ll be more likely to be approved for a stellar franchise agreement.

Does Rosati’s offer exclusive territory?

One of the downsides of running a Rosati’s franchise is the lack of territory exclusivity. You may have to compete with other Rosati’s Pizza franchised locations if you sign up to run a restaurant in a particularly competitive or high-value area, you may have to compete with other Rosati's Pizza franchised locations.

That doesn’t necessarily mean other Rosati’s Pizza locations will pop up. But you must remember this when choosing your original site and target market.

For example, starting a Rosati’s Pizza franchise in an area without an existing pizzeria (or at least one of the same Rosati’s brand) might make more sense.

In addition, you’ll have to consider other pizzerias and pizza brands in your local area before opening up a shop. The last thing you want to do is inundate a given target market with even more pizza.

Even in the best-case scenario, you and other pizzerias will compete over the same limited audiences. To that end, rely on Rosati’s corporate team to help you find the perfect place for your restaurant.

What are current franchisees saying about Rosati’s Pizza?

Despite the above flaw, Rosati’s Pizza franchisees usually have nothing but good things to say about their business arrangements. Indeed, this franchisor does everything it can to ensure that new franchisees feel supported from start to finish.

Many franchisee reviews note the extensive support resources and financial assistance they benefit from through Rosati’s Pizza corporate.

They also enjoy that long-time diners at Rosati’s Pizza restaurants repeatedly return because of the quality and delicious flavors of this brand's Chicago-style pizza.

Therefore, if you want to take pride in your food and don’t just want to run a financially successful business, starting a Rosati’s Pizza franchised location could be a wise idea.

Related: 100-Year-Old Pizza Franchise Finally Cracks the Franchise 500 | Entrepreneur

What support resources does Rosati’s Pizza offer franchisees?

Rosati’s Pizza provides many different ongoing and marketing support resources to take advantage of.

For example, when you are still looking for an excellent site for your pizzeria, Rosati’s Pizza’s corporate officers will help you locate the perfect place for your future restaurant, plus help you negotiate with lease owners if you need assistance. Once your business is ready to begin operations, you’ll receive grand opening support, plus training in security and safety procedures.

In the long term, Rosati’s Pizza gives all franchisees access to marketing ad templates, social media advertising support, email marketing assistance and website development resources.

With these digital resources, you can craft and launch an effective online marketing campaign targeting your local audience.

The loyalty program will also help you supplement your income, bringing people back. All in all, you shouldn’t have any difficulty launching a new store, even if you haven’t run a pizzeria before, thanks to all the support that Rosati’s offers.

Related: Getting Into the Growing Business of Fast-Casual Pizza

How much does starting a Rosati’s Pizza franchise cost?

Before you sign any contract paperwork, you’ll want to know how much it costs to begin a Rosati’s Pizza franchise location, especially since it can take time for your restaurant to start turning a profit.

Regarding your initial investment, you should expect to pay between $140,000 and $1.2 million on average. That's because although Rosati’s Pizza charges a relatively low initial franchise fee of $30,000, it does require you to have $80,000 in liquid cash and a net worth of at least $250,000.

The much higher cost could apply to your situation if you try to set up a new pizza restaurant in a competitive market or a place with very high real estate prices. Furthermore, don’t forget that you’ll have to pay a relatively reasonable 5% royalty fee plus an ad royalty fee of $350 per month.

These costs are manageable and affordable, particularly if real estate prices aren’t yet astronomical in your market.

Your term of agreement is 20 years, though, so be sure that the costs you agree to in your franchise agreement are manageable for several decades, as you may not have a chance to renegotiate those costs for some time.

Does Rosati’s offer financial aid?

Yes. Specifically, Rosati’s Pizza provides a 25% discount on the franchise fee for all veterans. But even if you aren't a veteran, Rosati’s Pizza does give you access to third-party lending resources so you can access financing for your franchise fee, startup costs and inventory.

Many of these third-party lenders can be used or contracted for long-term financial assistance, not just initial loans, as you begin your business.

Related: Should I Open a Pizza Franchise Abroad?

How much training is required to start a Rosati’s Pizza franchise?

Running a pizza restaurant takes a lot of specialized knowledge, particularly compared to other eateries. To that end, Rosati’s Pizza requires all new franchisees to complete 292 hours of on-the-job training and 8 hours of classroom training.

The basic classroom training covers some of the core business topics you should have learned if you have some business experience. The on-the-job training is more important.

During this training module, you’ll learn everything there is to know about running a pizzeria, including how to make pizza, where the ingredients come from and how to clean the ovens.

Rosati’s Chicago-style pizza is particularly important for the brand, so you must know how to prepare it properly. Rosati’s Pizza corporate also provides you with training resources so you can continue to staff up your business with new employees while ensuring that standards remain high.

Start a Rosati’s Pizza franchise today

With all the above benefits, there’s no reason not to consider starting a Rosati’s Pizza franchise today.

Check out Entrepreneur’s other articles for more information about Rosati’s Pizza and other franchise opportunities.