Adelaida Cuellar will always be remembered for her handmade tamales and chili. Her legacy was born in the 1890’s after her family migrated from Mexico to Texas. Adelaida Cuellar’s tamales first debuted at the Kaufman county fair in 1926. Her tamales and chili were accompanied by Adelaida’s twelve children playing music to attract customers. After this proved to be successful, she opened a neighborhood restaurant in 1928. Five out of eight of Adelaida’s sons helped expand the business; the Cuellar brothers became known as “Mama’s boys”.
We have been serving Tex-Mex food for 100 years. We operate and franchise El Chico in 6 states. These decades of experience as a restaurant operator and franchisor enable us to offer our single-unit and multi-unit franchisees the highest level of support. The following are services we offer our franchisees:
We are ready to assist you in locating a site for your El Chico restaurant. Over the years we have developed site selection criteria you can use as a guideline in locating your new restaurant. While we do not select your site for you, we will be available to consult with you based on our experience in selecting sites for our own units. We will review your site choices and help you make an evaluation based on building criteria, market area, site characteristics and access.
High visibility end cap and freestanding locations approximately 5000 to 6000 square feet, located no more than 100 feet from the main road.
Sources for strong lunch and dinner business: trade area mix of offices, hotels and retail with surrounding upscale residential.
Median HH incomes in the top 40% for the MSA.
15,000 or more households with household income above $75,000.
Per capita incomes are 50% greater than the MSA average.
Strong co-tenancy consisting of high-end retail, entertainment venues such as movie theaters, daily needs and/or lifestyle centers.
Minimum of 30,000 vehicles per day along the main frontage road.
In-line locations will be considered if they meet the above criteria and are not more than 50 feet from the road, have signage clearly visible to passing traffic and exceptionally strong co-tenancy of shopping centers.
Maximum signage as allowed by code with ability to secure tenant panel shopping center signage and/or individual monument sign.
The ability to incorporate patios awnings and umbrellas adjacent to the premise
We provide a set of restaurant plans and will work with you to develop a layout to fit the particular characteristics of your site. Our construction personnel can visit your site and offer recommendations for necessary modifications. We can also assist you with remodeling enhancement programs, equipment specifications, source lists, document/permit review and design review.
We understand the value of consistent and comprehensive training standards. Our Training Department has developed a detailed and extensive program to prepare your management team to run the restaurant.
At our management training facility in Dallas, Texas, we will provide your management team with training on how to run your El Chico restaurant. In addition to classroom instruction, there is hands-on front and back of the house training in a corporate restaurant. We have also developed training programs for your employees that cover all aspects of operating your restaurant from food preparation techniques to service standards.
We will send a team of experienced trainers prior to your opening to train all new crew members. They will provide hands-on training during the opening for both the front and back of the house. The training team will remain on-site after the restaurant opens as a support unit for the management team.
As part of our ongoing commitment to quality service, we continue to upgrade and refine our training program as new training methods become available to us. As part of the El Chico system, you will have all these materials available to you. Our philosophy is that proper training is one of the key ingredients to your success as an El Chico franchisee.
The El Chico Operations Manual provides operating procedures and policies to help you run your restaurant. We will provide you with recipes, manuals and materials covering food preparation, portioning and service.
Our Operations Department gives you help where you need it – in your restaurant. A Franchise Operations Consultant with years of restaurant management experience will be on-hand to help you with your opening. Your consultant will continue to support you and your management team with periodic in-store visits to help you analyze your operations, provide new product training and update your management team on new procedures to maximize your operations.
The Purchasing Department negotiates services and price agreements with approved suppliers and distributors. You will be provided the systems and products that are identified as the approved core menu to create brand alignment and to leverage the purchasing power of our company.
The IT Department offers comprehensive POS support starting with setup and installation. On an ongoing basis, we can provide POS Hotline support, software database changes and hardware depot services.
The El Chico Marketing Department’s mission is to create top-of-mind awareness while building the brand image in each of the communities we serve. Marketing campaigns are developed to support the overall positioning of the El Chico brand. Marketing supports these objectives by developing and executing electronic media advertising, local store marketing programs, print programs, promotions and point of purchase merchandising. These marketing tools are made available to our franchisees as they are developed.
Franchise Cost Information
Initial Franchise Fee
The initial franchise fee is $35,000 per restaurant.
Royalty Fee
The continuing royalty fee is 5% of gross sales.
Development Fee
The development fee is individually negotiated for each geographic area based on a variety of factors, including the number and location of Franchised Restaurants to be developed, an evaluation of market conditions such as market penetration of Franchised Restaurants and Company-Owned Restaurants, the area’s size, population, and per capita income, and other demographic and psychographic data.