Fuzzy's Taco Shop

READY TO GET FUZZY?

With a laid-back vibe and a cult-like following, we’ve made waves in the fast casual segment since opening the first Fuzzy’s Taco Shop in 2003. Since then, we’ve opened nearly 150 restaurants across the United States through organic, word-of-mouth growth within the franchise community. Now we’re laser-focused on expansion, with plans to hit the 200-unit mark by 2021 by partnering with franchisees that love tossing back frosty drinks and chowing down on house-made queso and chips on a patio just as much as they love adding a proven concept with a track record of success to their portfolio. That chill/savvy hybrid is exactly what we’re looking for in Fuzzy’s Taco Shop franchisees. 

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is a unique concept that breaks the mold of a traditional franchise. While our brand standards and menu offerings are consistent across the brand, we want our guests to feel like their local Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is a one-of-a-kind place. Our goal is to promote a certain degree of independence so every Fuzzy’s Taco Shop will take on the character of the franchisee and local community. Which means that our independent franchise owners are the key to creating the unique personality of their Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.

Our Baja Life atmosphere is grounded in something we like to call a “business in the back and party in the front” approach. We are laser-focused on maintaining the disciplines required to run a successful restaurant, yet we are equally concentrated on offering an inviting and entertaining environment for our guests–after all, they are at the very heart of everything we do.

We are looking for franchisees who have a passion for the Fuzzy’s Taco Shop brand and a desire to consistently deliver on our mission to serve generous portions of uniquely flavorful food at a great value in a vibrant, chilled-out atmosphere.  

The original Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is on Berry Street in Fort Worth, Texas. It was there that a glorious vision of taco heaven took hold in 2003: It would have frosty drinks. It would have good vibes. It would be the kind of place that you never want to leave. It would be a huge, craving-inducing success.

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop earned a cult-like following, and that first location turned into more than 100 across the country. Today, people bring their dogs, party on our patios and feel the festive love every time they walk into a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. And with locations popping up nationwide, our Baja tacos, Chips & Guac, and frozen margaritas are always within reach. Which is reason enough to celebrate with some, as far as we’re concerned.

A CONTAGIOUS VIBE THAT KEEPS GUESTS COMING BACK FOR MORE

At Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, we see repeat visitors and brand devotees, not just because of our addictive tacos, salads, bowls and queso, or our refreshing beers, margaritas and specialty drinks, but because of our laid-back, inclusive vibe that has the unique ability to make guests from all walks of life feel happy the moment they step foot in the door. Because of this, most Fuzzy’s Taco Shop regulars have a location they refer to as *their* Fuzzy’s Taco Shop—a place where everyone not only know their name, but also knows their drink order.

ARE YOU READY TO SPREAD THE BAJA LIFE?

FAQ's

DO I NEED RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE?

No, but you may need to go see a shrink to find out why you would want to be in the restaurant business. This is really hard work, but not rocket science. With that being said, we highly encourage our franchisees without restaurant experience to partner with an experienced restaurant operations manager who has a vested interest in the business.

WHAT IS THE TERM AGREEMENT?

The initial term is 10 years, with two additional 10-year successor terms.

HOW MUCH WILL I PAY IN ROYALITIES?

Our standard Royalty Fee is 5% of gross weekly sales, but getting our franchisees up and running is important to us, so we discount the royalty 3.5% for the first 52 weeks your Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is open.

DOES FUZZY'S TACO SHOP HAVE AN ADVERTISING FUND?

Currently, we do not have an advertising fund, but we do have a Development Fund and we do have the right to establish Advertising Cooperatives. Our current advertising emphasis consists of guerilla marketing, community involvement, charitable associations, to-go menus, a web-site and proprietary merchandise.

FUZZYS' TACO SHOP HAS A DEVELOPMENT FUND.  WHAT IS THE DEVELOPMENT FUND AND HOW MUCH DO I CONTRIBUTE?

The Development Fund Fee is currently 2% of gross weekly sales. The Development Fund is intended for the common benefit of all Fuzzy’s Taco Shop restaurants and may be used for items like market studies, logo creation and modification, menu design, POP, contests, marketing, and website development, among others.

HOW MUCH CAN I MAKE WITH A FUZZY'S TACO SHOP?

Due to Federal Trade Commission restrictions and various state franchise sales regulations, we are unable to provide you with specific sales or profit projections. To learn more about actual experiences, we encourage you to speak with existing franchisees during our qualification process.

WHO PICKS OUT MY RESTAURANT SITE?

You are responsible for choosing your restaurant site, but we will assist you in the process and we do have the right to make final approval. We currently use a site evaluation software to evaluate proposed sites to see how they match up to our core customers. We will use the software to evaluate the first site you propose for free, but we may charge a fee for additional evaluations.

WHAT TYPE OF LOCATION IS BEST FOR A FUZZY'S TACO SHOP?

The character of the building may vary greatly, but we look for locations that have between 3,000 and 4,000 square feet. The site may be free standing, in a downtown area, or in a strip center. The location should have an outdoor patio, so end caps work well for our restaurants. At a minimum, you must have a beer and wine license, though some restaurants may choose to have a full bar.

ONCE APPROVED, HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO BUILD OUT MY RESTAURANT?

From the date you sign the Franchise Agreement, you have 12 months to construct and open the restaurant.  

WHAT TYPE OF RESTAURANT TRAINING DO YOU PROVIDE?

The Restaurant Operations portion of our initial training program includes hands-on restaurant operations training, and is held over a five to six week period. In addition, a designated manager is required to attend Fuzzy’s Taco Shop University, which is comprised of 30 hours of classroom ops training. Our goal during this training program is to provide our franchisees with the ability to produce a consistent product while maintaining our fun, edgy, and addictive atmosphere.

DO YOU PROVIDE ON- SITE TRAINING?

In addition to our initial training program, we also provide on-site training at the time of your restaurant’s opening. Our trainers work with your team as they prepare to open the restaurant. After the restaurant opens for business, our trainers move into a supervisory role, ready to jump in and be more hands-on if necessary.

WILL I BE REQUIRED TO USE A SPECIFIC COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE IN THE OPERATION OF A FUZZY'S TACO SHOP?

Yes, we require all new franchisees to utilize the same point-of-sale software and we also have a required hardware package that must be installed.

DO YOU ALLOW FRANCHISEES TO CREATE MENU ITEMS AND ADJUST RECIPES?

Not without approval. We have a required menu and our recipes must be strictly followed. With that being said, we do allow our franchisees to use our standard, approved ingredients to create variations on our menu items to be featured as Manager Specials. An approval process is in place for Manager Specials and requests to add menu items.

DO YOU ALLOW FRANCHISEES TO CATER?

We encourage our franchisees to offer catering, but only after they have been in business for 6 months and are approved for catering. It is vital that you learn how to run the restaurant correctly before we approve catering.

HOW IS THE FOOD QUALITY AND CONSISTANCY MAINTAINED?

We have contracted with a national food distributor to deliver all food products to all restaurants on a weekly basis. We also monitor quality and consistency through monthly Mystery Shops and quarterly Quality Assurance Inspections.