Amorini Panini, a Washington-based restaurant specializing in sandwiches, is franchising its business starting in New York, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Matt Gray, the sandwich shop’s co-founder, said he has filed franchise registration forms and plans to start offering Amorini Panini franchises by early spring.
"The hardest part is building the template and making sure that template works," Gray said in a phone interview.
For the past six months, Gray says he has worked with ifranchise, a consulting firm based outside Chicago, to help him create a manual that instructs future franchisees how to choose a location; handle permitting, construction, and hiring; and run the business.
Gray says his goal for 2013 is selling just five franchises, but his five-year plan envisions expanding to 100 franchise-owned restaurants in the Northeast.
Gray, who opened the first Amorini Panini with his business partner Rich Twiley in Penn Quarter in 2010, says that a second location will open its doors by the third week of January. The new restaurant is located at 801 18th Street NW, and will hire 10 employees.
"We’re actually documenting the process…so that when we start selling franchises, the franchise dealer will have all this information.
"Today we’re selling paninis, and tomorrow we’re selling systems," he says.
Luis Velarde writes about business, investments, real estate, and urban development. His work has appeared in the BBC World Service, Voice of America and others.