How to open a new franchise location: the first 90 days
What opening weeks often look like, what to measure, and what a franchisor's opening curve should give a new owner.
Opening weeks are often not a store's real level. Launch marketing and curiosity bring people in, then sales settle. Labor runs heavy while the crew learns, waste runs high while prep pars are guesses, and the first reviews set a rating that can take months to move.
Plan cash for the settle
Build the opening budget on a settled level, not the first week. An owner who spends against launch sales can reach the settle short of working capital.
Measure by week since open
- Weekly net sales and orders against the brand's other openings at the same week since open, not against mature stores.
- Sales per labor hour, stepping down the training crew as the team gets faster.
- Waste logged per shift, with prep pars reset weekly from what actually sold.
- Ticket times at the peak hour. Slow service in week three tends to show up in reviews in week five.
- Every review answered, for the first three months.
For franchisors: share the opening curve
One of the most useful things a development team can give a new franchisee is the system's median opening curve: weekly sales by week since open, with the middle half of openings shaded. It sets expectations, tells an owner in week six whether they're typical, and shows the field team which openings need a visit. If you share performance figures with prospective franchisees, make sure what you share is consistent with your FDD and reviewed by counsel.
Where Franlever fits
Franlever starts reading a new store from its first synced day, and its owner and GM get the same daily brief as every other store.
Common questions
- Why do sales drop after a restaurant opens?
- Launch marketing and curiosity lift the first weeks. Sales often settle to the store's real level over the following one to two months.
General information for restaurant and franchise operators, not legal, tax, accounting or financial advice. Figures in examples are illustrations, not predictions or promises of results. Laws and platform policies change and differ by location, so check the current rules and talk to a qualified advisor about your situation.