FAQ's
Read Below to See Some of the Most Frequently Asked Questions
What does it cost to open a Toasted Yolk Cafe?
The average costs for leasehold improvements range from $471,000 to $655,000 and the total estimated investment could range from $741,100 to $1,226,000. These costs vary depending upon the availability and prices of labor and materials and whether certain costs will be borne by the landlord. There are times when second generation space is available which has the potential to reduce a percentage of the construction costs. Construction costs can also be offset in part by landlord improvement dollars. The cost of land, if purchased, and site work vary depending upon the location and condition of the property. We cannot estimate the cost of purchasing land or site work, which will vary considerably from location to location. Please refer to Item 7 of our Franchise Disclosure Document for additional information, or see the Investment tab on this website.
How much can I make?
The Toasted Yolk Café averages system wide sales of roughly 2.2 million per café dollars annually. We maintain a food cost of 26% and labor cost, although it varies by market, is 25%. For net income figures, we encourage you to reach out to any of our franchise owners for their experience. Although the net profit numbers are impressive, they depend greatly on your real estate situation (lease/purchase), debt service and local labor conditions.
Do you only serve breakfast?
No. The Toasted Yolk Café is a breakfast, brunch and lunch cafe only. We realized that it was very important to have a strong lunch menu. We are typically open from 7 am to 3 pm seven days a week and we see and very equal distribution of sales over that time because of our impressive lunch menu! We do allow our franchise partners to open for private events in the evenings if they have an opportunity.
What is your ideal franchisee?
We love operators! More importantly we love great business people who know how to develop teams and share our passion for The Toasted Yolk brand and the premium breakfast & lunch space as a whole.
Whether it is a single unit, six units or a whole market, we work together to make sure that the overall opportunity is a great fit for all parties.
What are ideal Toasted Yolk Cafe markets?
Our target market has an average of 100k population within a five-mile radius and a household income of 90k+. These markets can be dramatically different, from cities of 50,000 that are the regional, county seat that draw in local communities based on their established medical communities, regional shopping, higher education, or government facilities to major market’s booming suburbs. The Toasted Yolk Café has proven to be effective in a variety of settings!
How long does it take to open a Toasted Yolk Cafe?
The time to open a café could be as little as six months to as long as 18 months depending on real estate taken—lease hold improvement compared to buying land and constructing a building. Other factors could play a part in your timeframe—availability of materials, contractor scheduling and real estate availability.
What are the fees associated with opening and operating a Toasted Yolk cafe?
The initial franchise fee is $45,000 with 20% discounts applied to all additional units that are signed at the time of the initial agreement. At the execution of the development agreement, the first cafe fee and a 50% deposit for each additional cafe in the development agreement are due at signing. Our Royalties are 5% and the National Ad Fund is .5%. We do require you spend an additional 1% in your local market, but we do not collect this amount from you.
How many people does it take to operate a cafe?
Generally it will take 32 – 45 people to operate a café. The number will depend on sales volume and your percentage of full time to part time employees. A General Manager and Kitchen Manager are required to operate your café.
What are the requirements if I choose to have an Operating Partner
Often times we have larger groups that bring in an Operating Partner to manage the daily operations. We do require that this person have ownership in your structure and has a background in multiple unit operations and the experience required to develop the number of cafes that you are seeking.
How difficult is it to hire and retain management and staff?
Employees and management love our hours of operations. Our one-shift operation allows them to enjoy family time or have a second job if needed to support their family. We find hiring and retaining spectacular talent to be a bit easier than other casual dining establishments. Much of it will depend on the market and prevailing work conditions, but we have been fortunate that very solid management and mature employees love our hours of operations as much as our owners do!
Tell me about your training program!
For a new cafe, we allow an unlimited number of your staff to attend an eight-week training course at one of our corporate cafes. However, it is only required that your General Manager and Kitchen manager attend. As an owner we off an abbreviated version of training that addresses accounting, quality control and managing other KPIs of the day to day operations. When it is time for your cafe to open, we will send a certified training team of 5 to 7 people for 14+ days to help see that you are off to a great start. We only leave your café when we all agree that you are ready. In addition, we have a train the trainer program that will allow you to train staff at your café without incurring the expense of sending them to our corporate stores. Additional management and staff training conducted as needed is included in our ongoing support.
Ready to own a Toasted Yolk Cafe?
Check out our Territories page to see if your area is available!
