Make & Take Gourmet: Meal Prep Franchisor Takes Failures in Stride
April 30th, 2008 | 
Author: Sean over at FranchisePick gives a little insight into the churn and burn mentality of this industry. It doesn’t really matter if you close and go out of business, they’ll just find someone else to replace you. Apparently taking some management queues from Stephanie.
(FranchisePick.Com) Some new franchisors might be alarmed when two of their first franchises fail and their franchisees lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. But for Make & Take Gourmet founder Michele Bellso, franchise failures seem to be no big deal.
According to Bob Niedt’s initial story and a followup piece this past Saturday in the Syracuse, NY Post-Standard, two Make & Take Gourmet meal assembly kitchen franchisees have hung up their aprons for good – within a week of one another.
But Michele Bellso, founder of the now-14 unit chain, isn’t letting a little thing like
twothree* of her first franchise owners losing their $174,500 to $292,000 investments get her down. In fact:
Make & Take Gourmet: Meal Prep Franchisor Takes Failures in Stride
Other Articles of Interest:
- Make & Take = Done & Gone = Dead & Buried
- Why the Meal Prep / Meal Assembly Kitchen Franchises are Failing. Part 3
- Make & Take Gourmet to close store in Towne Center of Fayetteville
- New Hartford “Make & Take Gourmet,” to see change in name and services
- Can Botox Parties Save the Meal Prep Franchises? (Part 3)
- Why is the Meal Prep / Meal Assembly Kitchen Franchise Failing? Part 2
- Checklist — Assessing the franchisor
- Defaults by Franchisees Soar as the Recession Deepens
- 15 franchisees sue Snohomish-based Dream Dinners
- How To Handle Franchise Lawsuits
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Not sure I understand the purpose of the article “sean” whoever he is writes. Seems to have a hidden agenda. Although some “facts” are accurate, most of its just a one-sided demo. What purpose does it serve here with that agenda.
What Sean is saying is that even in the face of stores closing, without an understanding of why, or even caring to understand why, franchises are just going to keep selling stores. It doesn’t matter that owners are going bankrupt and that people are losing their life’s savings over an idea that is having to change and adapt every single day, the franchisor’s only concern is selling more stores so they can make money. None of these franchises actually have corporate stores, so not only do they have no idea what it’s like to try and run one of these in the current climate, selling franchises is their own source of income.
I don’t see any hidden agenda. Sean, like myself and others here, is bringing the truth to light about this industry and how it has no care for it’s owners even thought it throws around the term family every chance it gets and that the only thing they are concerned with is the might dollar or as Stephanie likes to say, “The Bottom Lineâ€. And while they keep saying it’s not about making money and that it’s about taking care of families and that it’s about being involved in a community and giving to those who are less fortunate, when one store goes under they just look at how they’re going to sell another one.
He has been in the franchising world for over 20 years and I believe the gross mismanagement that is occurring just can’t be ignored any longer.
Dream Dinners has stores listed on their site as being “temporarily closed†which shut down a year ago.
Meal Makers is all but out of business but their Franchising Info button still works.
I don’t think Supper Thyme will turn anyone away.
I’m sure you can buy into the MGFK/Dinner A’Fare combination.
The Bottom Line is, everyone in the meal assembly industry is making money, except the actual owners. And when that owner decides they’ve had enough, the Zor just finds a replacement without any concern as to the financial devastation they are perpetuating.
Trust me, Mrs. SupperThyme has been heard to say she would take $35,000 from anyone who would give it to her. Not to say she isn’t like any of the other upstanding Zor’s in the community. Some will even sell you a franchise at a discount just to make the sale…none of them are innocent as far as I’m concerned.
or better yet, set us all up to beleive they are working hard for the Owners, like Martha Stewart & Dr. Phil.
One question I do have with this ‘initiative’
Martha Stewart is a SMART business women, Dream Dinners isnt helping her- We, Owners are peddling Dream Dinners Through Martha Stewart. How will my customers see value in that?
Passing out gift certificates on the Dr. Phil show, How will that bring Value to my customers?
I guess I see it as ‘national marketing?’ but, am I being double charged for $800.00 a month then having to pay for all the gift certificates from the Dr. phil show, and then Martha Stewarts named recipe’s ???
How is this helping me as a store owner? This has been the argument with my husband & I for awhile- Any imput would be helpful!
Depending on how much a mention we get on Dr. Phil, it will be national exposure. I do feel sorry for the people (99% CA stores) that will be and have been already redeeming the GC’s. I don’t believe it is fair to only get food cost reimbursed. You still had to set up, clean up and bring in staff for the session.
But again, this is HO not caring if owners make any profit.
Martha and Emeril are last ditch efforts “to continue to place ourselves as leaders of the industry” and “solidify our brand” in the minds of the American people.
Ask yourself how relevant Emeril is now that he no longer works for the Food network, AND that Martha Stewarts name did nothing for Super Suppers when they tried to cash in on it….
This really does seem like a rehash of something that Super Suppers has already done with didn’t meet with much fanfare and success. It’s also interesting to note that the stores are the ones who are going to bare most of the cost and will certainly do most of the work.
Nothing against Martha, but having her wave her hand over something once really isn’t going to grab that many people. Is she promotes this for 3-6 months on a regular and consistent basis. If this is the typical 5 minute segment on the idea then I don’t think it will generate too much repeat business.
Emeril and Martha are fine spokespeople, but again you can’t just do it once and expect huge results. They have to keep mentioning the name and idea so I have a feeling this isn’t going to go over too well. The CA stores will get some business as they redeem all the GCs, but after that I don’t think the repeat business will be all that high.
This is something they should have started a year ago and has been an ongoing partnership.
Face it, MA has nothing new under the sun.
We may as well call it MA Deja Vu all over again!
FYI
Make and Take Gourmet has two corporate stores, all the corporate people spend time working in the stores, including the corporate owner who is there daily.
And yes it seems Sean has some agenda. Much on that forum about how Make and Take actually works inacurate. As was stated here that none of the franchises actually have stores.
FYI-M&TG just lost another store, ST lost 3, lord only knows how many SS, DBD or DD lost because they have gotten so good at hiding their true numbers to lure prospects into plunking down a franchise fee….
Anyway ya cut it the MA industry stinks…
Sean has an agenda??- Pray tell what might that be? Possibly to give people who have lost their behinds to the likes of the MA heavy hitter Zors, or even the minor players a voice and another place to be heard?
Or would you be talking about making (gasp) money?
Of course according to Step-on-me that isn’t what Zors are all about and neither should Zees…we should be more concerned with making a contribution to our communities OR better yet our Zors bank accounts…
I think it’s been proven that MA Zors have an agenda and that is to bilk folks out of $30-35,000.
ST has set their sites on opening 10 new stores this year,-they’ve lost 3 so far and summer has not hit.
M&TG set their sites on 60-70 this year and they’ve lost 3 maybe 4 so far, again with summer not even started yet.
Do tell