Hello.  If you’ve landed on this page, then a possible business opportunity with a proven product has piqued your interest.  Despite the misfortune of losing our operating space, I remain convinced that the right person with the right circumstances could revive the TJ’s brand and, over time, achieve great success. 

Who is the right person?  Well, to start, someone with a strong work ethic and dedication to the business – it’s not a part-time job.  Also, someone who truly enjoys working with food and people.  Someone with a passion for providing premium quality and topnotch customer service.  And someone with good business sense and long-term vision who can keep his/her eye on the prize: the eventual cash-out.

What are the right circumstances?  First of all, access to start-up capital.  I won’t sugar coat it; putting together a restaurant does not come cheap.  How much start-up cash is necessary depends on your aspirations.  If you envision a bare bones take-out operation confined to a small geographic area, plan on spending $75,000 to $125,000 to get started.  On the other hand, if you aspire to a more full service facility with a more extended reach of service, probably $150,000 would be your floor, but I would plan on more. 

Also, instead of renting operating space and subjecting yourself to arbitrary eviction (as we experienced) or dramatic rent increases, perhaps a real estate purchase would serve you better.  That might avoid those pitfalls, while at the same time building some equity instead of just pouring money into someone else’s bank account. 

Finally, collaborating with a trusted and willing partner is also something to consider.

The start-up figures cited above are just semi-educated guesses. Over the next 2-3 months I will be attempting to work up some more detailed, workable options.  If you are interested in exploring the possibilities and maybe even doing some of the legwork with me, go to our contact page and drop a line.  I’d be happy to meet and discuss.  Serious inquiries only please.

Bill Rice

TJ’s Take and Bake Pizza Company