PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans Franchise Costs, Fees & FDD

Year Business Began: 1978

Franchising Since: 1989

Headquarters: Mandeville, Louisiana

Estimated Number of Units: 190

Franchise Description: The franchisor is New Orleans Brew, L.L.C. d/b/a PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans. Franchisees operate a retail business under the name “PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans” featuring gourmet coffees and teas, blended coffee and tea beverages, whole bean and ground coffee, gourmet desserts, sandwiches and salads, and other food products and beverages authorized by the franchisor. There are three types of PJ’s units offered by the franchisor (from smallest footprint to largest): non-traditional model, inline/end cap traditional model, and freestanding traditional model.
Training Overview: Franchisees must attend and complete, to the franchisor’s exclusive satisfaction, PJ’s initial management training program in Mandeville, Louisiana, before the franchisee opens the PJ’s unit. The initial training is approximately five to eleven days, depending on the size of the class and rate of material covered, consisting of hands-on training and classes averaging eight hours per day plus additional homework assignments. The franchisor will send one or more of its representatives to the franchisee’s PJ’s unit, at no cost to the franchisee, for on-site training and assistance the franchisee opens their PJ’s unit. The length of time the representative is on-site may vary, but it is expected to be five to ten days. The franchisor also offers additional optional management and field training programs, including both advanced and refresher training, for the franchisee and the franchisee’s employees. The franchisor may designate certain additional management and field training courses for the franchisee or the franchisee’s employees as mandatory either in the franchisee’s state or in Mandeville, Louisiana.

Territory Granted: Franchisees will not receive an exclusive territory. Franchisees may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that the franchisor owns, from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that the franchisor controls. However, generally the franchisor will not establish another traditional PJ’s unit, neither franchisee nor company owned, within two driving miles of a traditional PJ’s unit.

Obligations and Restrictions: As an owner of a PJ’s unit, the franchisee does not have to conduct on-premises supervision or to personally participate in the direct operation of the PJ’s unit. However, the franchisor strongly recommends that the franchisee is actively involved in the operation of the PJ’s unit. The unit must at all times be under the direct, full-time, on-location supervision of the franchisee or a trained and competent employee acting as a full-time manager who has satisfactorily completed the initial training program. Franchisees must offer and sell only those products and services that the franchisor has approved. Franchisees may not offer or sell any other products or services without the prior written consent of the franchisor.

Term of Agreement and Renewal: The length of the initial franchise term is 10 years. If franchisees wish to renew and satisfy the required pre-conditions to renew, the franchisor will offer the option to renew the Franchise Agreement for three additional terms of 10 years each.

Financial Assistance: The franchisor does not offer direct or indirect financing. The franchisor does not guarantee a franchisee’s note, lease, or obligation. The franchisor offers a 20% discount on the initial franchise fee to franchisees eligible for its veteran discount program.

Estimated Initial Investment

Name of Fee	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee	$15,000	$40,000
Real Estate Lease Deposit for Premises	$2,500	$12,500
Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment	$86,000	$243,000
Opening Advertising	$12,500	$12,500
Travel and Living Expenses While Training	$3,500	$5,000
Insurance	$2,500	$7,500
Other Prepaid Expenses, Such a Deposits, Licenses and Various Permits	$2,000	$8,000
Opening Inventory	$10,000	$14,000
Exterior Signage	$4,000	$30,000
Free Standing Building or Leasehold Improvements (Not including the Purchase of Land)	$80,000	$1,200,000
Small Wares	$8,000	$10,000
POS System & Back Office Computer System	$2,500	$5,500
Legal, Accounting & Organizational Costs	$2,500	$5,000
Construction Drawings	$1,500	$75,000
Additional Funds	$30,000	$30,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL	$262,500	$1,698,000

 
Other Fees

Type of Fee	Amount
Royalty Fee	5.0% of net sales.
Marketing Fee (Marketing Fund)	2.0% of net sales.
Advertising Cooperatives	1.0% up to 3.0% of net sales.
Interest on Late Payments	Prime plus 2.5% per annum or the maximum rate allowed by the applicable federal and/or state law.
Training Fees	No fee charged for initial training programs. After first training program, additional training sessions may either be requested by the franchisee or mandated by the franchisor.
Refurbishment Costs	$20,000 - $65,000
Audit Fees	$2,500 - $8,000
Transfer Fees	$15,000
Renewal Fee	$0
Renovation/Design Construction Plans	$1,500 - $11,500
Returned Checks	$30 for each occurrence.
Charge for Inspection and Testing of Proposed Suppliers	$0 - $1,000
Point of Sale (POS) Software License Fee	$141 monthly fee.
Labor Management Program Fee	$20 monthly fee.
Inventory Management Program	$0 monthly fee.
Mobile App, Loyalty Program, Gift Card Program Fee	$159 monthly fee.
QuickBooks Essentials	$50 monthly fee.
Career Plug Employment Application Program	$0 monthly fee.
Liquidated Damages	The average monthly royalty and marketing fees during the preceding 12-month period multiplied by the lesser of the number of months remaining in the term of the franchise agreement or 36 months.
Annual Convention	$500 - $5,000
Annual Convention Penalty	$500
Financial Statement Penalty	$100

The above information has been compiled from the FDD of PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans. Year of FDD: 2025.
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