Start a Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe Franchise in 2026

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $567K - $1.2M

Units as of 2025: 105 15.4% over 3 years

In 1997, Keith and Amy Richards went on a vacation to Greece. They noticed people gather at cafes for more than food; people came to connect and celebrate things happening in the community. Inspired by this, Keith and Amy opened the first Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe in Birmingham, Alabama the following year.

Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe focuses on serving food made from scratch daily. The produce and herbs are fresh, and each restaurant strives to provide meaningful human connection. Since beginning to franchise in 2013, Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe has opened over 70 franchises located all throughout the United States.

Why You May Want to Start a Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe Franchise

The right franchisee for Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe is someone who displays a passion for the culture and takes pleasure in exceeding expectations. Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe may be the right place for you to bring people together around fresh, healthy food.

A franchisee is expected to have previous experience operating a restaurant. Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe prefers that the experience be in a multi-unit establishment or managing more than one franchise.

The best candidates to become Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe franchisees also want to give back to the community through the franchise's Hope Program. The main focus of the program is to help those with special needs find employment.

What Might Make a Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe a Good Choice?

If a franchisee opens a Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe, they may be confident that the corporate office will not hover. That said, Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe offers a thorough training program with ongoing training and support as the franchisee needs.

To be part of the Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe 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 fees and royalty fees.

Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe 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.

How To Open a Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe Franchise

One thing you need to do before opening a Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe is make sure that a franchise will work in your area. You want to make sure your part of the franchise will have room to grow. Research your competition to decide if the market is open for growth and if there are enough target customers in the area.

As you do this research, you need to write a business plan. Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe’s corporate office, which is located in Birmingham, Alabama, will want to see this before approving your franchisee application. Writing the business plan also allows you to write down questions you want the company to answer.

You will have help from Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe corporate as you select a site, plan the store layout, connect with vendors, train your team, market the new location, and plan the grand opening.

Company Overview

About Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Mediterranean Food, Miscellaneous Quick-Service Restaurants, Food: Quick Service
Founded	1998
Parent Company	Fresh Hospitality
Leadership	Dan Simpson, CEO
Corporate Address	3009 Pump House Rd., #200 Birmingham, AL 35243
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube

Business Overview

Franchising Since	2013 (13 years)
# of employees at HQ	55
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, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	105 (as of 2025)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe 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.	$567,000 - $1,198,000
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.	$1,500,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$500,000
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.	to 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.	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.

In-House Financing	Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe offers in-house 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	400 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops 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	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development 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
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