Franchising

Fazoli's reports record-breaking sales

August 10, 2020

Despite the global pandemic, Fazoli's is posting record-breaking sales numbers. The Lexington, Kentucky-based brand saw a 12% increase in sales and a 17% increase in traffic over the prior month. It also ended the month with its busiest Friday on record, July 31, hitting its highest sales and traffic numbers in a single day, according to an email to FastCasual.

Over the last 10 weeks, Fazoli's has opened four locations in Cartersville, Georgia; Sedalia, Missouri; Jacksonville, North Carolina as well as its first ghost kitchen in Atlanta. Also, nine others will open by year's end in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and North Carolina.

"Even during these challenging times for the restaurant industry, we are thriving and expanding our brand footprint," Fazoli's CEO Carl Howard said in a press release. "We've stayed aggressive in terms of our grand opening plan, and it has definitely paid off. All four of our recent openings have had incredible sales. Our momentum is very high right now, and we have no intention of slowing down."

As a way to provide a fast track to becoming a franchisee, the brand has cut the franchise and royalty fees in year one of ownership.

"Franchisees can sign a short five-year term, versus the typical 15-year commitment, with zero down payment, zero franchise fees and zero royalty fees in the first year," Howard said. "We have relaxed many of our conversion requirements so operators can get a 2,000- to 3,500-square-foot restaurant open for under $350,000."

Howard said the chain's dedication to technology and food safety have helped it thrive during the pandemic. Its off-premise initiatives and upgrades, for example, continue to evolve with loyalty guests ordering via phones and getting their orders by pick-up, drive-thru or delivery. Additional technology services, like ordering tablets in the drive-thru, became imperative, and the brand made the move to include them for all new openings.

When it comes to food safety, Fazoli's has maintained the highest standards, Howard said in the release, with the team enhancing all grand opening plans and training initiatives to incorporate COVID-19 cleaning and sanitation procedures. In addition to team members wearing masks and gloves and implementing social distancing, Fazoli's has upgraded sanitation procedures and limited dining room seating. Restaurants now have sanitation stations, wipes, and team members wash hands and change gloves every 20 minutes. They also clean and sanitize their workstations at the top of every hour.

"Our enhanced safety guidelines have been essential to us finding success in these new openings and will continue to be key as we open more Fazoli's throughout the country. Our brand is experiencing explosive growth, and we are set up for record expansion this fiscal year. We are offering a groundbreaking conversion opportunity with our new Fazoli's 2020 Franchise Incentive Program."

Fazoli's owns and operates nearly 220 restaurants in 28 states.