What Are My Startup Costs?

A Wienerschnitzel franchise is a low cost, affordable opportunity in the booming QSR segment

If you’re passionate about owning a business, what’s stopping you from making the leap? Since our founding in 1961, Wienerschnitzel has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs thrive in business — in fact, many of our franchise owners have been with us so long that now their children own Wienerschnitzel restaurants. This track record of helping franchisees realize their dreams and become financially independent through business ownership is what makes Wienerschnitzel so unique in the franchise industry.

“We support our franchisees for the entire life of the business,” says Ted Milburn, Director of Franchise Development. “It’s an incredibly supportive network, which is why our franchisees have been with us for decades and why so many entrepreneurs continue to join our franchise family — and this is a family. If you follow our business model, the sky’s the limit on how well you can do, and you can be sure that day-in and day-out, the Wienerschnitzel executive team is doing everything we can to help you thrive in business.”

It’s because of this commitment to helping entrepreneurs thrive in business that Wienerschnitzel is passionate about keeping the barriers to ownership low. As a result, a Wienerschnitzel franchise is an affordable franchise system to own in the quick serve segment. The total investment necessary to begin operation of a new Wienerschnitzel ranges from $303,600 to $1,443,000.

Wienerschnitzel has an entire team devoted to maintaining low costs of goods

One of the tremendous benefits of franchising with Wienerschnitzel is that this is a brand that has your back from day one and every day after. In fact, the Wienerschnitzel leadership team is constantly looking for new ways to help our franchisees maximize profitability and reduce the costs of owning a business.

“We try to constantly come up with operational efficiencies to ease labor costs, which in an age of increasing minimum wages, that’s vital,” says JR Galardi, President of Wienerschnitzel. “We only roll out new products that maintain a certain food cost so that we know our franchisees can make a profit. If a new product isn’t operationally efficient, isn’t fast and doesn’t taste good, we’re not going to put it out. A lot of our competitors have sold out and gone public — and now they have to focus on appeasing shareholders instead of helping their franchisees. We’re still a family-owned company, and we’ll always be a family-owned business, and therefore we never lose sight of helping our franchisees thrive.”

We offer a refund contingency on your first license fee if we do not mutually find and approve a new site within 12 months of executing your franchise agreement.**

Competitors Envy our low food costs

Outside of labor, one of the biggest challenges for an owner of a QSR restaurant is going to be ongoing food costs. At Wienerschnitzel, we focus on selling hot dogs, which are not only inexpensive to make, but are enormously popular with Americans across the country.

“Hot dogs make us incredibly happy,” says Rusty Bills, VP of Operations. “We think about ball games, backyards and spending time with people we love. They’re also incredibly versatile; you could put any toppings on them, and we focus on our world-renowned chili. Hot dogs also are a lot less expensive to make and the food costs are generally lower than the competition. You can go on any corner and get a burger or chicken, so we’re well positioned to be different right out of the gate. This is an iconic, nostalgic brand. We have great momentum in our sales right now, and we have a simplistic model to help our franchisees thrive. Our primary focus is making our franchisees profitable and help them thrive over the long-term.”

Financing makes the Wienerschnitzel hot dog franchise even more attractive

While Wienerschnitzel doesn’t offer financing directly, we can connect you with third-party vendors who can help you through the process of securing financing. With SBA Loans, home equity loans, leveraging retirement income and more, securing financing for qualified candidates has never been easier.

Who are we looking for?

If you’re passionate about bringing the best hot dog experience to your community, and have the leadership, drive and willingness to succeed, we want to talk to you.

“We want to speak with people who share our passion for exceptional food and great customer service and who are ready to be a leader,” Miburn says. “We seek restaurant owner experience or successful entrepreneurs who’ve demonstrated exceptional leadership skills in their respective business. We’re an iconic brand with a lot of momentum, and we can’t wait to welcome more entrepreneurs into our franchise family as we continue to grow moving forward.”

What are the financial qualifications to own and operate a Wienerschnitzel restaurant?

$1 million net worth and $300,000 in liquid assets are required to financially qualify for developing a new Wienerschnitzel. The net worth and liquidity requirements may be met individually, or by combining the financial worth of two or more partners. Should you seek third-party financing, it is possible to assume a traditional lender will expect you to invest as much as 33% of your own funds toward the project.

Review Item 7 from Our Franchise Disclosure Document

*Terms and conditions apply. Inquire for more details (Item #5 in our FDD).

Ready To Invest In A Wienerschnitzel Franchise?

With open territory, new store designs, and a new generation of nostalgia-driven consumers, Wienerschnitzel is a worthy investment for an entrepreneur who wants to bring the best tasting hot dog on the planet to their community. With industry-leading support, a proven business model, and 10 years of continual same-store sales increases, the time to invest in a Wienerschnitzel franchise is now!