• Investment Required
• Investment Level: $ 125 K
• Training and Support: Yes

The menu is a sausage-and-beef variety, with hot dogs, franks and a few extras, like tamales, which means that food prep is fairly straightforward, more like a fast food restaurant than a sit down casual dining experience.

Choo Choo Johnny's builds off of the model railroading hobby, which is more popular now than it has been in the last century, and the restaurant's décor and theme reflect this. The setup has an oblong table that seats about forty, with an extra-large model railroad track running around it, in a horseshoe configuration. Wait staff stand in the cutout in the center of the table, and when an order comes out, the plates are loaded on the flatcars of the model train, which chugs around and stops in front of the intended customers. Mirroring this overhead are lots of train paraphernalia, and a train running on a suspended track, letting all the diners see the spectacle.

This restaurant theme is wonderful for engaging toddlers and small children, and it provides an opportunity for the adults to sit back and enjoy being kids again. It is one of the few restaurants that is truly ageless in its appeal. How popular are model trains? It's estimated that half a million Americans spend around half a billion dollars on this hobby annually, and Choo Choo Johnny's is the first restaurant to tie heavily into this demand.

Choo Choo Johnny's is actively franchising. If this is an opportunity you want to get into, and you have $80,000 in liquid capital, and a willingness to spend $300,000 to set up your franchise in capital investments, Choo Choo Johnny's would like to hear from you. There are 58 locations nationwide, and the company is trying to expand into more areas.

The company provides extensive training on food preparation, administration, office and sales software, and marketing procedures. Each franchise holder is trained extensively at the flagship restaurant in Chicago, and gets additional training at their own facility, both before and after the grand opening. It's more than just model trains – the company gives training and guidance in operations, maintenance and customer service techniques, assistance with product ordering, and pricing guidelines.

How much can you make? The flagship store's gross sales are public knowledge, and are over $600,000, with a profit per annum of $189,000. While these aren't guarantees, you can expect the same profit ratio off of expenses, and Choo Choo Johnny's provides extensive assistance in securing third party financing to franchise partners who make the cut.

Business Franchise World is not actively submitting franchise applications to the Choo Choo Johnny's Franchise Company at this time. Please browse our other top franchises, which are currently accepting new franchising opportunity applications.