1. Who is Potbelly looking for to open a franchise?
Potbelly is looking for "Potbelly People" to become franchisees. That
means people that love working with a team, have solid business
experience (not necessarily in restaurants), the financial
qualifications, possess personal motivation and have been
successful. We have a strong desire to have family-owned stores and
our ideal franchisee would be a married couple or life partner team.
We will consider business partnerships, but each person must submit
an individual application.
2. How much are the royalties and other annual fees?
Royalty fees are 6% of gross sales up to the first $1,000,000 in a
fiscal year and 7% of gross sales on that portion of the Store's
Gross Sales during the same fiscal year that exceed $1 million. The
marketing fees are up to 4.0% of gross sales.
3. How much can I make as a Potbelly franchisee?
The Federal Trade Commission and various state franchise sales
regulations do not allow us to provide specific profit projections.
To learn more about the financial aspects of franchising with
Potbelly, we will provide you our Franchise Disclosure Document with
financial disclosures when you are further along in the evaluation
process.
4. How much does it cost to become a Potbelly franchisee?
Please refer to our
investment overview
to gain a better understanding of fees and potential investment costs.
5. Does Potbelly offer financing?
No, you will be responsible for financing.
6. How long does it take to open the store?
Each location is different, depending on a variety of factors,
including site selection, build-out requirements and training.
However, we anticipate it will take approximately 6 months from
signing the franchise agreement to opening day at your Potbelly. We
have partnered with a third party that will provide you with
appropriate real estate assistance.
7. What kind of training can I expect as a franchisee?
All new franchisees participate in an 8 week training program. This
consists of real life experience in our company-owned stores, as
well as training at the Potbelly Support Center in Chicago. In
addition, we will train your key holding employees for 6 weeks at
one of our stores. Once completed, franchisees receive regular
updates to their training along with our company-owned stores,
including regular on site reviews.
8. I'm interested in learning more about the Potbelly franchise
opportunity. What should I do next?
Click here
to answer a brief questionnaire and to learn more.
This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an
offer to buy, a franchise. It is for information purposes only. An offer is made
only by Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Currently, the following states
regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois,
Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode
Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a resident
of, or wish to acquire a franchise for a Potbelly Restaurant to be located in,
one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have
complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in
your state.