What do you need to open a fast-food joint? Millions

Here’s a good question a caller posed last week: How much does it cost to open a fast-food restaurant?

I can’t nail down an exact figure for her — and let me make it clear readers will want to avoid investment advice from a reporter whose plus and minus calculator keys are worn about as thin as the paper we print on. But a look at the new Bojangles going up on South New Hope Road gives us an idea about what big business those little boxes of fries can be.

We told you last month that builders Primax Construction, headquartered in Pinehurst but a common sight around Gaston County, estimated it will cost around $500,000 for the building.

That’s a 3,800-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through. This month, the Register of Deeds recorded the sale of land JFS Holdings LLC bought for the Bojangles on South New Hope. The price tag? About $515,000 for 1.1 acre. Martin Eudy over at Gaston Real Data, who tracks every land sale in the county, helped me figure out the cost. Just take the sales tax, which is listed online, divide it by two and add three zeroes. My overworked calculator thanks you, Martin. Add to that the $25,000 franchise fee the Charlotte-based chicken chain requires. So that’s roughly a $1 million investment for the new Bojangles. And here’s what the company requires from new franchisees: A net worth of $1 million, meaning after you paid all your debts you could add the value of everything you own and come up with at least that much, and liquid assets of more than $500,000, which means you would need a half-million dollars’ worth of stuff you could sell quickly to come up with the cash. It makes a spicy chicken biscuit look like quite the bargain.

New chamber office in Mount Holly

Mount Holly has its very own chamber of commerce office as of this week.

The Mount Holly Chamber, a chapter of the Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce, will open the new space at 551 Highland St. It’s upstairs in the L & E Properties building.

An in-town address will help the group better serve businesses in eastern Gaston County and, with any luck, help grow membership, said Mount Holly Chamber Board Chairman James Allen. He credits a proactive group of local professionals with forming and forwarding the chapter over the last two years.

Having the chapter in eastern Gaston County means the regional chamber, one of four in the county, can focus more on a town that is poised for growth, says Cam Tracy, the director of business development.

Find out what property sold and for how much ... - Gaston Gazette

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