Franchising

OUR DECLARATION : To be recognised by customers as the most-loved café business in the world

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Previous experience in operating a café is an advantage, but not a necessity in owning a Shingle Inn Café.
Our experienced personnel will provide comprehensive training in café management, ordering, rostering, customer service and marketing during our six week pre-opening training program.You will also receive ongoing support and regular visits from your assigned Area Manager.


If you’re joining Shingle Inn when a site has not yet been located in your preferred area we are happy for you to have input into site location. Shingle Inn has very strict site selection criteria, based on our 76 year history of what does and doesn’t work for our brand.

As a result, Shingle Inn retains the right to decline a site we don’t believe will be viable.


Our business model and forecasts are based on the franchisee working in their café. Our experience shows that productivity, service and profitability are also enhanced by the owner’s regular presence in-store. If you’re anticipating not working in the café, we expect this to be openly communicated during the interview process.


Shingle Inn expects you’ll obtain legal and accounting advice from qualified professionals before signing any franchise documentation. We further recommend that you obtain a written quote or a fixed fee for professional services so you can budget for these costs.


Training is structured on a 6 week program split between 2 weeks Business Management Training and 4 weeks in-store Operational Training. The in-store training can be fast-tracked by working 6 days per week, which would allow this component to be completed in 5 weeks (instead of 6).


Given the initial inexperience of most Franchisee’s coming into the Store Build and Fit Out stage, Shingle Inn control the shop fit out. There is little chance of a franchisee being able to complete the fit out while training and this ensures the work is completed to the quality standards required and within the timing agreed.


Due to our network of current stores, we have numerous national supplier agreements in place. To maintain consistency in brand presentation across the network we expect all franchisees to utilise the supplier arrangements in place. This agreement especially helps the business to retain its cost of goods leverage, consistency of quality,character and niche identity.


Any ideas for new products or alternative supply arrangements must follow company policy guidelines through the relevant department.

With innovation and superior quality two of our brand values, Shingle Inn is open to ideas that are likely to sell well. In order to introduce a new product to the range, the idea needs to first be put through as testing, costing and marketing channels, following company policy. As such, ideas are welcome but must follow the approval procedures in place for new product introduction.


The Royalty Fee is the value Shingle Inn gives the Franchisee when a Franchise Agreement is signed by both parties.
The Franchisee is buying a right to operate a business using a previously established and thus known business. The Franchisee does not have to start from an unknown entity and build a brand. More important than the brand however is that the franchisee obtains access to the operating systems of the company which includes all aspects of business operations that have been tried and proven to be effective by Shingle Inn.

The Fee also covers the ongoing support needed to operate a successful business. This support includes the immediate and constant access to Area Managers who can add value to your business and the effective Advertising, Marketing and HR strategies programmed in advance.So in summary the Royalty pays for the Brand, Operating Systems and Support Systems.


The marketing levy covers all marketing activities undertaken for the benefit of the entire Shingle Inn network. Activities may be of a ‘branding’ or ‘call to action’ nature, at the discretion of the Marketing Manager. In addition to advertising, the marketing levy funds all network-wide point-of-sale (POS) posters, generic product tags and POS kits, agreed opening quantities of POS display materials and support you receive from the marketing team.


In most cases in a shopping centre environment the Landlord will require the Franchisor to be the Lessee. This also assists the Franchisee as Shingle Inn has negotiation leverage and experience in dealing with Landlords and may ultimately achieve a better deal for the Franchise owner.


The Term of the agreement is normally 5 years. The Franchise Agreement will normally correspond with Lease period.


The average cafe has two full time Supervisors, up to 3 casual barista’s (working different times), and 2 casual Kitchen Specialists.

Further to this approximately 7 wait (table) staff, all casual , in a mix of seniors and juniors. Normally you would establish a pool of 10 to 12 casual wait staff to choose from for any given shift.


Shingle Inn Area Managers have years of practical experience in our network and have established both Company and Franchise stores. Their expertise is focused towards achieving operational efficiency and profitability whilst ensuring the integrity of the Shingle Inn Brand via close attention to Shingle Inn policy and systems.