News

Cousins Subs continues '09 growth, reduces franchise fee

June 22, 2009

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. — Cousins Subs has posted impressive growth numbers in the first half of 2009 and will continue the momentum through the second half of the year with additional store openings and a newly-launched franchise fee-reduction program, the company has announced.

Cousins has opened seven new restaurants since January and expects to open eight more franchisee-owned restaurants by the end of the year. According to Mark Cairns, Cousins' director of franchise sales, the majority of these new restaurants will be in Cousins' home state of Wisconsin but several will be in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The company also is targeting western Wisconsin, central Arizona, eastern Minnesota and northern Illinois for growth in the coming months.

Along with the new openings, new franchisees will be required to pay $12,500 per store – down from $25,000 – and existing franchisees looking to open additional stores will pay a flat $5,000 fee (the company previously charged $20,000 for a second restaurant and $15,000 for a third) through the end of 2009.

"We're hoping both new and existing franchisees will see this program as a silver lining during these lean times and we're happy to help these people achieve their goals of owning their own businesses," said Cairns. "These reduced fees paired with lower lease rates and increased availability of contractors and potential employees will assist our franchisees in getting their operations off the ground faster."