Our mission is simple. As one of the best franchise opportunities, we will sustain growth while creating lasting value for our customers, employees, suppliers and investors, the stakeholders of Giordano’s. It makes us one of the most profitable franchise opportunities.

If you’ve ever been interested in franchising a restaurant, read on.

Our Craftsmanship: One-of-a-Kind Pie

At Giordano’s, we respect and celebrate our heritage. We infuse our passion for quality into every pizza pie that we handcraft. We apply old world craftsmanship. That’s right. It’s not just crust + toppings + cheese + sauce in a deep dish pan.

Putting a Giordano’s pizza together isn’t a one-person job, or an emotionless assembly line. It’s a multi-step team creation! It takes well-trained craftspeople, gathered around the same stainless steel island and applying their knowledge and skill to make the magic of a Giordano’s pizza pie happen.

Stuffed Deep Dish Pizza

Chicago-style pizza is all about the deep dish.

But when comparing Giordano’s to the other guys, that’s where the similarities end. Our pizza isn’t just deep — it’s also stuffed. We tenderly layer quality ingredients (more than any other Chicago deep dish pizza) in a carefully constructed double-crust pie. The magic happens in the oven, where the ingredients come to their full potential within the dough, creating a pie that delivers a delicious and very satisfying feeling that’s pure Giordano’s.

Quality

Our quality is the best, for four reasons.

• The best cheese. Our mozzarella cheese is made specifically for Giordano’s by a producer in Wisconsin, dedicated exclusively to our use.
• Heavenly tomatoes. The tomatoes found in Giordano’s delicious sauce come from California. Our tomatoes are hand-selected to be perfectly ripe and red so they taste juicy the year-round. Summer. Spring. Fall. Winter.
• Handmade dough. The dough used in our signature double-crust pizza is handmade daily.
• Fresh ingredients. All ingredients used at Giordano’s are always fresh, carefully sourced and never frozen.

Beyond Pizza: Something for Everyone

Pizza is our main event, but far from our only event. Restaurant owners know that pizza — like Buffalo wings or cheesecake — can be subject to a veto vote, whether it’s kids in the car or a family deciding on dinner. One person who doesn’t feel like a pie that day (or had pizza for lunch yesterday!) can make all the difference in whether the car stops by your franchise and orders your pizza or decides to go somewhere else.

So, we make sure Giordano’s is not for pizza lovers only. Our menu has something for everyone. Delicious pastas and Italian fare, of course. Mouthwatering sandwiches, tangy appetizers, fresh salads are all on our menu.

We also have plenty of gluten-free options, to reach customers who avoid gluten.

Franchise Opportunities

So, now that you’ve read all about us, what franchise opportunities do we offer?

Giordano’s restaurants are either full-service or limited-service. Our new market target growth is focused on full-service restaurants.

A typical Giordano’s full-service restaurant is approximately 4,000 square feet. The average table check is $30-$44.

When your specified market reaches the full-service restaurant saturation agreed upon, we would continue to backfill your specific market with our limited-service platform.

A limited service restaurant has a scaled-down menu (primarily pizza, salads and a few appetizers) in a footprint of approximately 1,200 square feet. Staff in a limited-service restaurant equal 3-5 per shift in outlying markets.

Franchise Support

When you become a Giordano’s franchisee, your success is our success!

You will always be provided with outstanding support from top to bottom. You will always be recognized and treated as the restaurant’s owner.

We, as the franchisor, will provide you with the necessary support you need to run your business. By offering operational and marketing support, you can run your restaurant like a well-tuned machine, everyday.

Our dedicated corporate team is available to help you out whenever you need them, whether you need on-site support or assistance with cost and sales tracking.

We provide you with:

• A complete equipment list and specifications, FF&E list and specifications and list of pre-approved suppliers
• Operational and management manuals and other tools
• Financial analysis, operations evaluation and strategic planning

Training Support

Giordano’s Training Program for new franchisees has been carefully developed to provide the technical and managerial skills necessary to make a difference in today’s competitive marketplace.

The Training Program consists of:

• A comprehensive, seven-week training program for franchisees and general managers
• A dedicated opening team that devotes a minimum of 15 pre- and post-opening days of support.

The franchisee and the franchise manager, if any, as well as any other employees that the franchisee designates, must attend the initial training program conducted by the franchisor.

The training program lasts for seven weeks of approximately 40 hours per week. The weeks need not be consecutive.

The training program includes the following:

• Approximately two weeks of pre-opening training at the franchisor’s training Giordano’s® restaurant in the Chicago area
• Two weeks of training at a company-owned Giordano’s® restaurant
• Two weeks of pre-opening training and opening preparation at your restaurant, provided by two qualified employees of the franchisor
• One week of post-opening training and support at your restaurant, provided by two qualified employees of the franchisor

The seven-week training program will include information and instruction in all aspects of the operation of a Giordano’s® restaurant, including preparation of foods, personnel hiring, training and motivating, inventory procedures, daily operations, sales and marketing, administration and management.

Marketing Support

Marketing your franchise is crucial in developing and maintaining your restaurant’s success. As a franchisee, you will have access to our strategic and creative marketing tools, to increase brand awareness and retail sales.

Our marketing support includes:

• Public relations support for Grand Openings and community-centered programs, with on-site opening support
• Wide-ranging ongoing marketing services, including graphic design, public relations, social media, local restaurant marketing and advertising support
• Access to Giordano’s Style Guide and Giordano’s Marketing Manual, including all brand standards and approved marketing practices and programs

Investment and Expense Requirements

Support on all levels is what you get from Giordano’s.

A business owner looking for a top 10 franchise needs to have the full details on franchise costs. Not every franchise list will give you a view of what restaurant franchises cost.

But what does Giordano’s require in terms of investments and expenses? Like all franchisors, investments and expenses from our franchisees helps us to strategically plan for a vibrant business, grow the Giordano’s brand to the benefit of all our family and supports all the forms of business support we offer.

Financial Requirements

To ensure stability, franchise candidates must meet the following financial requirements:

• Minimum net worth of $3 million, with liquid assets of $1 million (cash, stocks, secured equity).
• The initial requirement is for franchisee to sign a two-restaurant development agreement.
• The franchisees must be able to obtain financing as needed and 20 percent of any single restaurant’s start-up costs must be in liquid assets.

In addition, the royalty is 6 percent and the ad fund is 2 percent.

Our estimated initial investment for a full-service restaurant is as follows:

• Initial franchise fee: $40,000
• Leasehold improvements: $620,000 – $960,000
• Furniture, fixtures, equipment and fees: $280,000 – $490,000
• Initial inventory: $10,000 – $20,000
• Security deposits and advanced rent: $25,000 – $50,000
• Grand opening advertising: $20,000
• Miscellaneous start-up costs: $50,000 – $100,000
• Additional funds, three months: $40,000 – $110,000
• FULL SERVICE TOTAL: $1,100,000 – $1,775,000

If you are interested in starting a limited-service Giordano’s later on, the estimated initial investment is:

• Initial franchise fee: $40,000
• Leasehold improvements: $240,000 – $367,000
• Furniture, fixtures, equipment and fees: $167,000 – $223,000
• Initial inventory: $3,000 – $5,000
• Security deposit and advanced rent: $15,000 to $30,000
• Grand opening advertising: $15,000
• Miscellaneous start-up costs: $30,000 – $40,000
• Additional funds, 3 months: $25,000 – $45,000
• LIMITED SERVICE TOTAL: $535,000 – $765,000

Real Estate and Building Requirements

Real estate choices are extremely important to the success of pizza franchises. Your location must be highly accessible, easily drivable and easily walkable.

You need the following location and trade area features to be approved as a franchisee:

• Densely populated trade areas with equal mix of day and evening population
• Square footage of 4,000-5,000 in each location, with ample parking and easy access points for pick-up service and delivery
• Excellent signage space and visibility
• Excellent sign ingress and egress at controlled intersection
• A mix of business and residential areas. These are equally important in your chosen location.

Your need the following traffic generators to be approved as a franchise location:

• Power shopping centers with Big Box and high-end retail anchors
• Everyday-use shopping centers
• National casual dining brands in a continuous restaurant corridor
• Super Target/regional, super-regional malls

Our physical specifications for a full-service restaurant are as follows:

• 4,000 – 5,000 square feet (free-standing or endcap)
• Outdoor dining area
• Full-service liquor available
• HVAC: 2+ units providing 1 ton/150 square feet
• 800 amp, 120/208 V, 3-phase, 4 wire
• 4” sanitary to space
• 2” water with 55 PSI to space
• Grease interceptor to code
• 1,000,000 BTU 2½” gas line
• 2 ADA restrooms
• Complete fire sprinkler system per code
• Finished drywall demising walls
• 2 – 1’ conduits stubbed to the space
• Gravel base floor and $6.50/SF for slab
• Unfinished ceiling and $15,00/SF allowance

Real Estate and Building Support

As a crucial aspect of your business and the Giordano’s brand, our real estate team provides guidance and assistance throughout the site searching and acquisition processes.

The team offers essential real estate education, access to market analysis tools, help in identifying and selecting a qualified broker, assessments of potential sites, assistance taking the selected site through our corporate approval process, and guidance through the lease negation process.

Specifically, the real estate team provides analytical support, restaurant design support and kitchen design support.

They will also guide you as the franchisee through a lease consultation and review.

The Franchise Process

We hope you are excited as we are about our iconic brand, our loyal customer base, our targeted expansion plan and our stellar franchisee support!

We’re excited about you, too.

Want to start the franchise process? It’s just seven simple steps:

1. Visit www.giordanos.com

 

2. Complete the online franchise inquiry

 

3. Speak to our friendly franchise sales team

 

4. Conduct due diligence

 

5. Complete the franchise application

 

6. Meet our leadership team

 

7. Become a member of the Giordano’s family!