April 2017 | Business View Magazine

116 117 Taco Rico Tex-Mex Café go in any one of those big cities. So, the plans are to advertise and find good leads throughout the state of Florida and expand as quickly as we can, but responsibly.” When vetting potential franchisees, Neal says he is looking for people with some restau- rant experience or at least some background in management seeking to be their own boss. “Somebody with a lot of experience believes they can do their own thing, so that’s not really the person that we’re looking for,” he asserts. “I don’t have a problem with a ‘blank slate’ as long as they have really good communication skills. They can then use those skills to properly teach and train their staff. I’m also looking for some- body that I can see interacting with a customer base. The owner, being the face of the restau- rant, is definitely one of our keys to our success. We’re old-school-active; we talk to our custom- ers, touching every table and making sure the experience is a good one.” In terms of location and a potential restau- rant’s physical design, Neal works with a realtor who understands what will work best for the Taco Rico brand. “We’re looking at finding a spot that is on a busy thoroughfare in a good business district because we say: ‘Pay the bills at lunch, and make a profit at dinner,’” he explains.“It’s also got to be in a good residential district because we don’t want to be stuck in the middle of a ware- house district.” “It has to have the ability for outdoor seating and um- brellas with our logo on it,”Neal adds.“We look for some- where between 1,400 and 1,800 square feet.To keep the costs down,we are generally looking for a spot that is, hopefully, restaurant-ready, or at least has some attributes of a restaurant or bakery,that has a grease trap or a hood sys- tem,and proper electrical and plumbing. We look for some- thing that gives us an edge going in andwon’t cost us much money.A typical franchise that wants you to build exactly to their specs is usually looking for either a brand new location or some- thing that they can gut and make into what they want. But then, you’re talking about any- where between 350 to 750 thousand dollars’worth of build-out,where our average build-outs, by going into a restaurant-ready spot, can be as low as $70,000 up to $180,000; somewhere in the middle is the average.” The owner, being the face of the restaurant, is definitely one of our keys to our success. We’re old-school-active; we talk to our customers, touching every table and making sure the expe- rience is a good one. leland neal Founder and CEO