Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes
Zamba® Different from Other Chicken Restaurants?
Minimum Qualifications
Real Estate/Development Qualifications
Finance
General Information
Glossary of Terms
What Makes Zamba® Different from Other Chicken
Restaurants?
Zamba's founder pulled together the best of the
dishes he experienced into what can best be described as “South
American Fusion.” A unique menu was formed, comprising
of Brazilian flavors, Peruvian flavors, Columbian flavors, Portuguese
flavors and more.
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Minimum
Qualifications
What are the basic requirements for franchising
with Zamba?
Zamba requires all candidates provide solid business and restaurant
experience and have a net worth of $500,000, of which $250,000 must be
liquid per restaurant.
If I cannot meet your financial requirements for franchising
by myself, can I partner with other people?
Absolutely. We have
many franchisees who have partnered with other interested parties
to become franchisees.
How do I determine my 'Net Worth'?
In its simplest terms, it is Total Assets (what you own) minus
your Total Liabilities (what you owe).
What are 'Liquid Assets'?
The most common forms are cash, stocks, bonds and inventory.
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Real Estate/Development Qualifications
In what types of venues will Zamba build?
Our two most common venues are 'free-standing' (alone on its own
real estate) and 'in-line', as part of a shopping center or row
of businesses. We also develop in other venues such as airports,
shopping malls, college/university campuses and many others.
Who determines whether or not I can build a restaurant on a particular
piece of real estate?
Zamba retains final acceptance authority
in all site selections. Once you have submitted the site to Zamba,
we conduct an analysis and, when necessary, we visit your location
to determine whether or not the location fits the established criteria
for development.
Can I buy an existing building and convert it to a Zamba restaurant?
Yes, if the image elements of Zamba can be incorporated into
the building being converted. As with any site, the location must
first be accepted by Zamba.
What does Zamba look for in a restaurant location or site?
Our ideal site would be a corner lot, at a traffic light with convenient
ingress & egress
on the 'going home' side of the street. The lot size would be a
minimum of 25,000+ square feet (130' x 190' ft. or .4 acre) and
have an average daily traffic count of at least 20,000 on the primary
artery, with a minimum of 25,000 in population within 2 miles,
with median income between $30,000 - $85,000. Keep in mind this
is not an absolute criteria; specific sites are evaluated on their
individual merits.
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Finance
Does Zamba provide financing?
We do not provide financing for franchised restaurants. You'll
need to secure financing for your restaurants and provide a letter
of commitment to finance as part of your application package. However
we do have financing companies who are familiar with Zamba. Your
New Business Director can discuss this with you once you are qualified
and are moving forward with the application process.
What considerations should I keep in mind when searching for a
lender?
A borrower should consider the following elements of a
loan structure:
- Interest rate
- Cost of funds
- Personal guarantee
- Prepayment penalty
- Lockout provision
- Term of loan
- Commitment and loan fees
- Equity requirement
- Forward development commitment
- Ability of lender to fund
- Establishment of long-term relationship
- Loan provisions
What is the average profit from a Zamba restaurant?
Like any company that franchises, Zamba is governed by the FTC
and cannot make earnings claims, except as disclosed in Item 19
of its Uniform Franchise Offering Circular. Once you have begun
the franchising process and have been disclosed under our UFOC,
we will encourage you to review the UFOC information and to talk
with other franchisees about such matters.
What other sales & earnings numbers can you
share with a potential franchisee?
Except for the information set forth in Item 19 of
the UFOC, Zamba does not furnish or authorize our sales people
to furnish any oral or written information concerning the actual,
average, projected or forecasted sales, costs, income or profits
(the "earning capability") of a restaurant.
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General Information
Why do you have the area I'm interested in listed as sold out,
when I don't see a Zamba restaurant near me?
Zamba sells franchises
through what we call a 'Development Agreement', which assigns the
franchisee a particular area in which to franchise and gives them
a timeline in which the franchisee must build the restaurants.
Your area may have a Development Agreement but the restaurants
aren't built yet, but will be by the end of the agreement.
I am interested in owning the development rights for an entire
area so that I am the only one who can build Zamba in that area.
Can I do this?
Our goal is to fully penetrate a market within 5
years. We look for more franchisees with smaller development schedules
to help us reach this goal.
I am a student and I am doing a project on Zamba. Who should
I contact?
You should find all the information necessary on this
website, but if not, please feel free to contact our Communications
Department at info@zambachicken.com. They will help you
with the information you are looking for.
Does Zamba own the real estate and the building or must the
franchisee buy them?
The franchisee is responsible for buying the
real estate and for the cost of the building. We will offer assistance
in site selection, architectural design and other areas of construction,
but Zamba does not own the real estate or building.
Can I purchase Zamba restaurants from the company or from other
franchisees?
Franchisees from time to time will sell their restaurants,
but Zamba does not currently offer this information to the public.
If you were interested in purchasing a restaurant from one of our
franchisees, you would have to approach them directly.
How long does it normally take to get approved to become a franchisee?
Normally the franchising process takes between 90 and 120 days,
but can vary. The length of time is determined by many things such
as how quickly the franchise candidate returns the required material
to Zamba and the amount of time it takes the franchisee to arrange
financing.
Once I am approved to become a franchisee, how long until I can
actually open a Zamba restaurant?
You agree to the opening date
of your first restaurant in the development agreement but as a
rule most people open their first restaurant within one year.
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Glossary of Terms
- DMAs - Designated Marketing Areas - Generally
a group of counties in which the commercial TV station in the
metro/central area achieve the largest audience share. In simpler
terms, a group of counties around the area's major population
center which all get the same local TV stations.
- Development
Agreement - You must sign a development agreement to establish
the term of your restaurant development. When you sign the agreement,
you must pay the development fee for each restaurant to be developed
under the Development Agreement.
- Development Fee - A non-refundable
fee that is paid to Zamba at the time of execution of the Development
Agreement for the development rights granted. Our Development
Fee is $7,500 for each option purchased.
- Development Schedule - The
schedule by which the franchisee must open the restaurants to
which they have agreed in the Development Agreement. This schedule
is negotiated between the franchisee and Zamba prior to the
signing of the Development Agreement.
- Franchise Agreement -
You must sign a Franchise Agreement within 90 days after we accept
a site for the restaurant and prior to the opening of the restaurants.
You will enter into a separate Franchise Agreement for each of
your restaurants. The Franchise Fee is due at the time of the
signing of the Franchise Agreement.
- Franchise Fee - This non-refundable
fee of $30,000 per option is due when you sign a Franchise Agreement.
These fees are paid prior to the construction of each restaurant.
Unlike the development fee, this fee is paid as you develop your
options and not at the signing of the Development Agreement.
- Term - The length of time that
the Franchise Agreement is in place is 20 years.
- Option -
The Development Agreement grants you the option to build a Zamba
restaurant in your development area. At Zamba, the minimum
Development Agreement is for 3 options or the right to build
3 restaurants.
- Royalty Fees - The franchisee is obligated
to pay 5% of gross sales weekly to Zamba as a Royalty Fee.
- Advertising Fee (Ad Fund) - Once a restaurant
opens, the franchisee is obligated to pay 3% of gross sales weekly
into the Ad Fund. This fund is used for national, regional and/or
local advertising or promotional materials and market research
for the Zamba system as determined by Zamba under certain
conditions and limitations.
- Advertising Co-op - Once a DMA
becomes media efficient an Advertising co-op will be established
by the brand. A co-op can also be formed if 80% of the franchisees
in the DMA choose to establish the co-op. All franchisees in
the DMA must join the co-op once established. This also requires
the franchisees to contribute the base ad fund dollars and any
spending above the ad fund as voted by the co-op members. Franchisees
work in cooperation with the field marketing team and advertising
agency to decide how to most effectively market/promote in their
DMA.
- UFOC (Uniform Franchise Offering Circular) - The UFOC
is required by the Federal Trade Commission and is designed to
protect you, the franchisee. After you have filled out the application
and appropriate financial verification forms, and Zamba determines
that you are eligible to begin the franchising process, Zamba
will send you a UFOC. The UFOC is a valuable franchising tool
and contains information on the following areas: contracts, litigation,
fees, restrictions, financing, franchisee/franchisor obligations,
territory, trademarks, earnings claims, list of all outlets,
financial statements, ongoing development and much more.
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