McAlister's Deli vs Houlihan's Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of McAlister's Deli vs Houlihan's including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
  McAlister's Deli Houlihan's
Investment 398000 - 2094200 1600000 - 4300000
Franchise Fee 0 0
Royalty Fee 5% 4%
Advertising Fee 3%
Year Founded 1989 1972
Year Franchised 1994 1994
Term Of Agreement
Term Of Agreement
Renewal Fee


Business Experience Requirements
  McAlister's Deli Houlihan's
Experience General business experience Industry experience General business experience Must live in same market being developed

Financing Options
  McAlister's Deli Houlihan's
 
Franchise Fees No No
Start-up Costs No No
Equipment No No
Inventory No No
Receivables No No
Payroll No No

Training & Support
  McAlister's Deli Houlihan's
Training On-The-Job Training: 206 hours Classroom Training: 45 hours
Support Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform Meetings, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Marketing Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertising
Operations Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 95% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 40 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (66% of current franchisees are owner/operators) Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 78 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (80% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Expansion Plans
  McAlister's Deli Houlihan's
US Expansion Nationwide, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming,
Canada Expansion
International Expansion

Start-Up Costs and Fees Mobile
Investment
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's
Franchise Fee
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's
Royalty Fee
McAlister's Deli 5%
Houlihan's 4%
Advertising Fee
McAlister's Deli 3%
Houlihan's
Year Founded
McAlister's Deli 1989
Houlihan's 1972
Year Franchised
McAlister's Deli 1994
Houlihan's 1994
Term Of Agreement
McAlister's Deli 10 years +5+5+5
Houlihan's 20 years
Renewal Fee
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's $5K


Business Experience Requirements
Experience
McAlister's Deli General business experience
Houlihan's Industry experience General business experience Must live in same market being developed

Financing Options
 
Franchise Fees
McAlister's Deli No
Houlihan's No
Start-up Costs
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's
Equipment
McAlister's Deli}
Houlihan's
Inventory
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's
Receivables
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's
Payroll
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's

Training & Support
Training
McAlister's Deli On-The-Job Training: 206 hours Classroom Training: 45 hours
Houlihan's
Support
McAlister's Deli Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Houlihan's Meetings, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Marketing
McAlister's Deli Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Houlihan's Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, Regional advertising
Operations
McAlister's Deli Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 95% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 40 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (66% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
Houlihan's Franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 78 Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (80% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Expansion Plans
US Expansion
McAlister's Deli Nationwide, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Houlihan's Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming,
Canada Expansion
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's
International Expansion
McAlister's Deli
Houlihan's