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Patrick Cain and Valerie Anderson have taken an ooey-gooey childhood comfort food to another level and made it franchise gold.
The brother-sister duo behind Mr. Mac's first launched their gourmet mac and cheese restaurant in 2010 in Manchester so they could ditch corporate careers. Now their first franchisee, Harry Cheema, continues to grow his Portsmouth location and is adding restaurants in Massachusetts.
After about five years, "we came to a point where we were ready to grow," Cain says. He and Anderson worked with a handful of New York-based consultants on expansion plans, all of whom suggested they consider franchising due to Mr. Mac's unique brand.
The current franchise deal requires an initial investment ranging from $343,200 to $746,500, depending on the scope of build-out costs. That 10year agreement includes a royalty rate, a brand fund fee and local advertising costs. There is also an initial franchise fee of $35,000.
One of the duo's consultants connected him with Cheema, a real estate investor who was also interested in leaving...