For as long as franchising has been part of the business world, so have restrictive, one-size-fits-all franchise business models. As successful and profitable as these business models have been, it leaves a lot on the table on both the franchisor and franchisee side of the business. In the restaurant world, the brick-and-mortar is the standard, but opening a static location in a building doesn’t always work in a given community or with a potential Franchise Owner.
At Capital Tacos, our decades of combined experience in restaurants in addition to franchises gave us the idea to do things a little differently. The restaurant industry has grown so much since the early 2000s, so our team has adapted our business to meet the growing and unique needs of hungry taco lovers everywhere. So, let’s dive into the multiple franchise business models our Tex-Mex restaurant franchise offers and how you can leverage each (or even more than one!) in your business ownership journey.
Our Business Models
As we were building Capital Tacos into the fast-casual restaurant business it is today, we realized that as successful as our brick-and-mortar locations were, there were still thousands of people in our community that weren’t familiar with Capital Tacos. Even if we were only a ten-minute drive down the road, we could still go unnoticed! This is what led us to adapt our business! Now, we offer three different business models to our Franchisees, helping them take the tacos to the customers and meet them where they are.
Brick & Mortar
Everyone loves a good night out, and this is no exception in the fast-casual food industry. We’re proud of how we’ve built our brick-and-mortar taco chain franchise opportunity, and–as each of our restaurant Franchise Owners design and customize their own locations–they create something they’re proud of, too! By incorporating their personal and local style with our Capital Tacos staples–interactive chalk walls, old-fashioned pinball machines, hanging chairs in the bathrooms, and bottle cap art–we create a decor style everyone can find something to enjoy!
With our traditional Tex-Mex restaurant set-up, you can expect to see the traditional but optimized kitchen in the back-of-house, while our dining room provides customers with a space to savor tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and everything in between on our menu without the need for a separate, solely
front-of-house staff. It’s a lean set-up that feels familiar to the overwhelming majority of our current and potential fast-casual restaurant Franchisees!
Static Trailer
Our static taco trailer business model is exactly as it sounds, it’s an extended food trailer that is designed to be parked in a relatively permanent location. With this, you can serve customers that are familiar with your location, as you would with a brick-and-mortar Tex-Mex restaurant, but without some of the same overhead expenses, like purchasing or renting a commercial space, paying for certain utilities, and a variety of other aspects. You’ll serve the same chef-created menu and still establish yourself in the neighborhood but without the need for the same size staff! At Capital Tacos, our taco trailers are built to take up 2-4 parking spaces and still feature wheels to allow the trailer to be moved when necessary.
Event Trailer
If you’ve ever had a dream of opening your own food truck or having the freedom to bring your food directly to the people, our mobile event taco trailer is the business model you’re looking for! Our event trailers are the low-investment model that allows you the flexibility you need to either start small and ramp up quickly with your Capital Tacos journey or to supplement your other business models in operation.
We understand that in the restaurant industry, the ability to offer catering blows the doors wide open to a massive revenue generation opportunity. While dropping off chafing dishes is the standard in the fast-casual world, we took it one step further. This way, you can offer your catering clients the full “food truck experience” and make an even better impression. Additionally, you can take your taco trailer to local events and festivals, allowing you to introduce your Capital Tacos business to people that otherwise would never have known about you.
Business Models Meant to be Mixed & Matched
If you hadn’t yet guessed, the best part about having a variety of fast-casual restaurant business models to choose from is that you can mix and match them to suit your business goals, your needs, and the demand in your community. So, while it’s perfectly fine to start with one model, you can absolutely choose to open a static taco trailer and brick-and-mortar, operate an event trailer alongside your brick-and-mortar, or whatever mix of the three that works for you! Let’s take a look at the various benefits of leveraging our multiple Capital Tacos business models at once.
Corner More of Your Market
In your community, there’s only so much room–physically and otherwise–for fast-casual restaurants offering Tex-Mex and tacos. While opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in one second-generation location is great to get started, you may soon find yourself with a lot of competition as more start to pour in when they recognize how popular you’ve become. Instead, by leveraging our multiple business model approach, you can provide more Capital Tacos to your community and corner the market for your Tex-Mex cuisine in your area!
While you can mix and match business models in a variety of different ways, one of the more popular methods is to supplement your brick-and-mortar restaurant location with a static taco trailer. When you choose to start with these two models, you can use your static taco trailer as a way to introduce Capital
Tacos to your community while you wait for your build-out to finish. Then, once you’ve opened the doors to your brick-and-mortar Tex-Mex restaurant, you can move your static taco trailer to a new location and continue to operate both, maximizing your revenue and standing out in your market.
How Taco Trailer Models Encourage More Visits to Your Brick & Mortar Restaurant
One of the most common questions people ask employees working on food trucks and trailers is, “Where are you located?” While the answer for many is often “you’re looking at it,” when you run a static or event trailer alongside your brick-and-mortar location, you have the opportunity to reach out to more customers than without. Whether this is through strategically placing your static taco trailer in a different or busier neighborhood or by taking your event trailer to participate in high-attendance festivals and events across your metropolitan area, you’re introducing more people to your Capital Tacos business!
Meet More of Your Customers Where They Are
As much as we all wish we could make the drive to our favorite taco and burrito restaurant every day, there are some situations where that’s not possible. When you operate a fast-casual spot with the cult-like following Capital Tacos has gained, you may not see the same incredibly slow periods during the day as other restaurants, but they’re still unavoidable! Instead of just pushing through these, you can use your static or event trailer to instead go to where your customers are at different times during the week. This could be locations like office parks during business days or busy shopping areas on the weekends.
Get Engaged in Your Community with Catering
According to the Restaurant Business publication, catering provides the opportunity for five new ways to increase your profitability throughout the year. Catering provides you with a unique chance to bring in additional revenue at the same time as marketing yourself without the costs associated with traditional marketing. Additionally, catering can be done in a variety of ways, including the use and drop-off of chafing dishes at an event location, or through on-site serving via our mobile event trailer. However you choose to introduce catering in your Capital Tacos restaurant franchise territory, don’t overlook the fantastic opportunity it provides!
Franchise Investment Options to Fit Anyone
The overwhelming majority of franchises on the market today, especially those in the fast-casual restaurant space, only offer a single, one-size-fits-all investment model to all their potential and current Franchise Owners. While this may work for the franchise itself, it can mean hundreds of prospective Franchise Owners are forced to abandon their ownership journey with them simply because they don’t have the capital for the franchise fee, their net worth is lower than normally required, or a variety of reasons. With Capital Tacos, we provide three business models to choose from, each suited to different work styles, personalities, financial situations, and business goals, so you can choose what works for you–not the other way around.
Start the Business That Works Best for You Now
Each individual that looks into owning a franchise does so for a variety of reasons. Whether that’s to finally leave a draining corporate job, to build a financial future for themselves and their family, or to diversify their portfolio, business ownership dreams are unique to each person. Regardless of your motivation, you should have a variety of business models to choose from that meets you where you’re at to help you start now. If that means you still need to maintain a part-time job alongside your new
business, or you need a smaller business in the beginning because of your financial situation, you deserve to have options to get started.
Build a Foundation for Your Future Plans
At Capital Tacos restaurant franchise, we understand that a traditional brick-and-mortar restaurant may be your ideal solution, but could present hurdles you can’t overcome right now. Instead, we offer our static and mobile trailer models to help you get your Tex-mex restaurant business up and running sooner or for less initial financial investment when you need that lower barrier of entry. This way, you can work your new business into your life and schedule on your terms, and start building the revenue and net worth you need to scale and grow into a brick-and-mortar Tex-mex restaurant space in the future.
As the Mexican and fast-casual restaurant industries continue to grow, there’s never been a better time to join the Capital Tacos franchise. No matter who you are, with our three different business models, it’s easier to join and start building the business of your dreams! So, when you’re ready to transform your life through delicious food and the business model that works for you, get started with our initial questionnaire to see if you qualify.