Last Updated on July 25, 2012 by DeanR
Famous Sam’s Franchise
Famous Sam’s is a franchise for a sports bar that is also a restaurant. It was founded by Sam Schantz in 1963. It was initially names as Sam’s Tavern which was conceptualized as a neighbourhood “hangout”. They offered overstuffed pastrami and sandwiches and on the side, they provided entertainment with pinball machines, television, and pool tables. They called this concept “eatertainment”. They targeted mostly blue collared employees who are into sports and entertainment.
The first Sam’s Tavern was opened in Tucson, Arizona. They started franchising in 1989 and when they did, they modelled the second location after the first. The following locations were built into malls and they started concentrating more on the food becoming a family restaurant but still keeping the environment attractive to sports bar enthusiasts. They now have 27 locations all over Arizona.
What is on the menu at Famous Sam’s?
For appetizer’s they have Sam’s Famous Wings available in six, 12, 24 and 48 pieces. They also have country combo, sliders, Sam’s nachos, mushroom basket, onion ring basket, zucchini basket, Sam’s fries, chicken quesadilla’s, bottle caps and hot scoops, and boneless chicken wings. For Overstuffed Samwiches, they have Sam’s Famous hot Pastrami and Cheese, philly cheesesteak or chicken philly, Sam’s Reuben, breast of turkey, Sam’s club, turkey melt, grilled cheese, Sam’s grilled ham and cheese, B.L.T., fish fillet, French dip, and Sam’s steak samwich. For the baskets, they have shrimp, steak finger, shrimp and fish, chicken strip, fish, and shrimp and chicken. For Samburgers, they have the Chipotle burger as a specialty then the Sam’s cheeseburger, spicy blue cheeseburger, mushroom cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, patty melt, and Texas chilli size. For chicken samwiches, they have breast of chicken, fireworks or chipotle chicken, BBQ chicken, outrageous chicken, spicy buffalo chicken, and mushroom chicken. For soups and salads, they have sonoran taco salad, am’s “cobb” salad, crispy chicken salad, and chicken Caesar. If that is not enough, you can add extras like jalapeno peppers, sour cream, fresh or grilled onions, side of chilli, bacon, extra cheese, dips, dressings, salsa, roasted green chillies, guacamole, BBQ sauce, and cheddar cheese sauce.
Costs and requirements on running a Famous Sam’s franchise
You need to have a net worth of $750,000 and a total liquid asset of at least $200,000 to $250,000. Expect to be investing about $586,000 to $1,200,000. The Famous Sam’s franchise fee is $30,000 with an on-going royalty fee of 5%. This is for a renewable 20 year term agreement. They also require strong management background. They allow multi unit ownership but do not allow absentee ownership.
What is included in the franchise package?
There will be a total of eight weeks training at the headquarters and training at your location as needed. Training includes orientation, personnel management, and front of house jobs, office procedures, back of house jobs, managing a quality shift and review, and system standards. There would be site selection assistance from a third party real estate broker, design and construction. You will also be provided with a list of approved merchandise and products. You will be receiving newsletters, a toll free phone number, attend meetings and expect occasional field evaluations. For marketing, there will be co-op advertising.
Famous Sam’s Contact Details
You may reach them at:
Address: 16012 Metcalf Ave., #1 Overland Park, Kansas 66085
Phone: (888)866-8808 or (913)239-0266