Pizza Franchisee Pans Environmental Certification Cost

Houston Chronicle:

Chris Toman’s plan to go green could have put him in the red.

The owner of a local pizza franchise plans to apply for LEED certification for his 2,600-square-foot restaurant space on the back burner because it was going to cost too much.

Toman said he would have to pay between $30,000 and $40,000 to become certified by the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, which awards points to structures that are energy efficient and otherwise good for the environment.

“With prices like that, it’s hard — especially for smaller companies,” he said.

Toman is opening a Pizza Fusion franchise, which requires all of its restaurants to be built to LEED standards, as part of its self-described mission to “Save the Earth one Pizza at a Time.”

Not only are the buildings green, the chain delivers pizzas in hybrid vehicles.

The cost of going green for Pizza Fusions in other markets is less than half of what Toman was told he’d have to pay here.

Much of the cost goes to consulting companies that develop energy-efficiency plans for buildings seeking certification. These firms also make sure the buildings ultimately perform the way they were designed and file reams of paperwork required on all projects regardless of their size. Read more.

Franchisors Seek International Markets

Franchise Key:

According to a study realized by the CSA polls institute at the request of the Banque Populaire Group and the French Franchising Federation, 29% of franchisors have points of sale in international markets.

Favored targets are Europe (precisely the EU), the Middle East, and the Maghreb. For instance, the French brand Le Tanneur just opened its first boutique in Luxembourg and is developing new projects in Eastern countries. Another French example is Orchestra, a brand that went international in 2000; present in 38 countries, the network wishes to strengthen its presence in Russia and in the Middle East.

Other flourishing countries: China and Japan. The French brand La Boite à Pizza will open its fourth outlet in Shangai and is now considering the Japanese market. Another French Brand of furnitures, Guy Hoquet Immobilier is getting ready to enter the Chinese market with the ambition of opening hundreds, and even thousands of boutiques in the coming years!

CEREALITY BITES: University of Pennsylvania Cereal Cafe Closes

(FranchisePick.Com) Related Reading:

Snapped, Crackled & Flopped: RIP State College Cereality

The Cereality Franchise Dead Pool: VOTE NOW!

Cereality Franchise Closes in 3 Months; Breaks Previous Record

How ‘Bout a Stone Cold Bowl of Reality?, Reality, Surreality & Cereality

University of Pennsylvania students are supposed to be some of the smartest in the country. It only took them 4 years to realize that they didn’t need to pay $6 for a bowl for Capt. Crunch. It’s true: the Cereality Cereal Cafe at UPenn, the last PA outlet, has sunk to the bottom of the entrepreneurial bowl like so much shredded wheat.

Who could have guessed? A cereal cafe that didn’t make it? When I called Cereality (215-222-1162) to place a take-out order for a bowl of Coco Puffs, the Cereality answering machine broke the news: the West Philly branch is no longer open for business.

What a shocker! When the much-hyped cereal cafe concept was first introduced, several people exclaimed: “Why has no one done this before?”

I guess we have the answer.

This leaves one franchised cafe location in California, one university food court location in Arizona, and a handful that were put inside Cold Stone Creamery locations under the “Two Wrongs Might Make a Right” program from parent Kahala Bad Ideas in Bowls Corp.

Related Sponge Bob dialogue:

SPONGE BOB: I once had a dream.

MR. CRABS: I once had a kidney stone. Everything passes.

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