--- title: "Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Grégoire Franchise" url: https://burnaze.com/article/8158a360-8d24-450f-bc6e-bc5e3ad2ef1d source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/top-5-reasons-to-buy-a-gregoire-franchise-2718858 category: "Home Services" industry: "Home Services" published: 2022-06-03T13:08:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:10:41.713Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/29c8a35a5b147b2a953c99962bad374e1966.jpg --- # Top 5 Reasons to Buy a Grégoire Franchise **TL;DR:** Grégoire, a fine-dining style food franchise, is offering franchising opportunities to expand its unique concept of locally-sourced menu items served to-go. Founder Grégoire Jacquet is seeking franchise candidates who are excited about his niche business model and creating a memorable customer experience. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-06-03. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/top-5-reasons-to-buy-a-gregoire-franchise-2718858).* ## Story For 20 years, Grégoire has been serving locally-sourced menu items to-go at the eatery’s Berkley, California location in the “Gourmet Ghetto” foodie neighborhood. Founder and five-star-restaurant trained chef Grégoire Jacquet has thoroughly enjoyed making a name for his brand in the local scene with delectable food and quick, efficient service. Now he’s opened up the business to franchising opportunities so the company can expand to other locations. Almost everything about Grégoire makes it an attractive option for investing. The business has a unique concept, with a seasonal menu of fine-dining style food, made from scratch and sourced from local farms, but served to-go. Jacquet has made sure that every little detail, from the carry-out containers to the intimate atmosphere of their original location, is well-thought-out and makes Grégoire unlike any other food spot around. Jacquet is actively seeking franchise candidates who are excited about his niche business model and creating a memorable customer experience. There are a multitude of reasons why becoming a franchisee with Grégoire is such an incredible opportunity. Born and raised in France, Jacquet went to culinary school before working in the kitchens of five-star restaurants around the world. After all of his years in fine dining, he became a magnificent cook, but he also noticed some aspects of high-end restaurants that he did not like and thought he could do better. All of his experience meant he understood what it took to run a restaurant, so he decided to preserve the quality of fine dining food but without the fuss. He decided to create a carry-out establishment. “I've always wanted to serve quality food, so I decided on doing a fine-dining restaurant, but my way,” said Jacquet. “I didn't really want a full-scale restaurant with a front of the house staff. I wanted something really small, and the best way to do that would be takeout.” In 2002 when he first opened the business — and even now, Jacquet says — the concept of ordering high-quality food items at a take-out counter was unheard of. Grégoire’s patrons, especially during the pandemic when carry-out orders were the only option, appreciate that they can get quality food as you would be served in an upscale restaurant. “I wouldn't say there was any competition,” said Jacquet. “Nowhere in the world were we seeing what we wanted to do. I came up with this because I knew that there was a need for fine food to-go because the only to-go you could get was pizza or fast food.” Jacquet is looking for people who are passionate about food and customer service, saying he can teach them the rest of the business. The brand will provide owners with everything they need to know and will be in close contact with them each day, addressing their needs. He has created an ingenious concept of having a culinary hub kitchen that is centrally located to all the locations. There, ingredients will be prepped and packaged by 5-star chefs to streamline operations at the restaurants. Owners will communicate with the kitchen and use an app to place orders for whatever they need the next day, and it will be delivered fresh to them. The idea is something he tested out when he was running a second location in Oakland for a few years, and it was very efficient. “We are putting the highly trained back of house team in a big culinary hub kitchen to create all the seasonal recipes, portion fresh cooked roast and fish, and make all the homemade dressing and sauces, and then deliver them to the franchisee in the morning. That is how we support them and make sure things are done right using professional chef techniques,” said Jacquet. “It’s easier for ordering, pricing and delivery.” The space needed for a Grégoire location is fairly small due to the carry-out concept. With the nature of the to-go concept and not having a front of house staff, there is not much overhead to run a Grégoire franchise in terms of location and employees. The concept is small in size, creating an intimate atmosphere where customers can chat with the cooks while they are preparing their orders. And there only needs to be a few employees, with no table service, and chefs in the back preparing ingredients. “Having a small space with take-out makes it very manageable for franchisees,” said Jacquet. There is no obligation to shell out on buying or renting a large property, as opposed to other restaurants that are serving similar foods with sit-down service. It also means that franchisees only need to hire a small staff. When Jacquet started the business, he took on many roles at the restaurant. He only had one cook and a cashier, and he was doing everything else. A few quality hires should be sufficient to run the kitchen, where the food only needs to be put together and packaged up. One of the things that has made Grégoire so successful is that it fills a hole in the market. From seasonally changing menu items that are legendary locally to the thought he puts into all the processes, the business is truly one-of-a-kind. The unique energy of the brand is beloved in Berkeley and beyond, and now franchisees have the opportunity to build that in other regions. “We have items that no one can compete with,” said Jacquet. The restaurant is famous for its potato puffs, its most-ordered item that accounts for 38% of sales. “I hear people in line bringing friends that have never been before and telling them ‘You have to get these magical deep fried mashed potatoes; they are heaven’,” said Kim Lee, Head Chef at Grégoire. “The customers love them.” But it’s not just the food that makes them stand out. Grégoire has sleek, patented carry-out boxes that Jacquet personally designed to make sure they not only held up orders well and kept the food hot, but that they also looked good and were not just plain, flimsy containers. “No one else is going to be able to compete in that space because he’s put too much energy into the details. You can't replicate five or six high-end dishes and the way the packaging is designed,” said long-time customer Mark Burger, who confirmed the potato puffs are “epic.” “There won’t be any competition.” Jacquet agreed. “Still to this day, we have items that no one can compete with.” In the 20 years since Jacquet first opened the doors and turned on the burners at Grégoire, he has built it into a favorite spot in the community. The restaurant is always busy, bustling with hungry customers whom staff can quickly help with the efficient take-out service. Already being a carry-out-centric model allowed the business to easily survive the pandemic and do increasingly well since. And perhaps the most noteworthy evidence that Grégoire is a profitable business is the fact that most of the orders are coming from repeat customers. About 75% of sales are from returning patrons who love the food so much that they keep coming back. The business has a loyalty program with over 30,000 customers enrolled — and that’s just the one location. Franchisees will enjoy building new customer relationships and bringing in more recurring patrons. French-trained chef Grégoire Jacquet had a vision of a local restaurant offering quality fine dining-style food with the convenience of a quick carry-out experience. In 2002, Grégoire opened its doors as the first fine-fast-casual restaurant concept that serves gourmet sandwich and salad dishes, its famous potato puffs and scratch daily fresh-made french fries, all served in a custom-designed take out box. After two decades of serving the local Berkley, CA community, Grégoire has launched franchising opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Home Services (sector) - franchising (topic) - franchise opportunity (topic) - Gregoire (company) - Grégoire Jacquet (person) - local sourcing (topic) - fine dining (topic) - food to-go (topic) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/top-5-reasons-to-buy-a-gregoire-franchise-2718858). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/8158a360-8d24-450f-bc6e-bc5e3ad2ef1d).