Franchise Graveyard: P.B. Loco Peanut Butter Restaurant
March 20, 2008 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
(FranchisePick.Com) They called Galileo loco when he said the earth was round. They called Raisin Brand loco for putting two whole scoops of raisins in every box. And they called the group of corporate lawyers loco for starting and franchising a peanut butter sandwich restaurant called P.B. Loco.
In the latter case, they were right. I don’t call them loco, however. I call them the next addition to FranchisePick.com’s Franchise Graveyard:
This just in from the Appleton Post-Crescent:
P.B. Loco corporate changes lead to Grand Chute closing
Q: There’s a sign on the P.B. Loco Cafe saying it’s available for lease. Is it moving or closing?
A: It’s closing. The P.B. Loco Peanutbutterlicious Cafe, at 4353 W. Wisconsin Ave., Grand Chute, will serve its last sandwich March 30. It’s a modern cafe — done in peanut butter, jelly and chocolate colors — that sells gourmet peanut butter in its creative menu and by the jar.
It will be the fifth P.B. Loco to close, including the flagship Mall of America branch that shut Dec. 31.
The branch here had been open since December 2006. When it closes, there will be just one P.B. Loco operating, in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The closures are a result of a corporate restructuring, said the Grand Chute franchise owner Kelly Klesmit, who responded to Post-Crescent questions via e-mail.
“It has simply become too expensive to operate outside of a franchise system,” she wrote. “While the cafe has become quite popular, and doing a decent amount of business, we are being forced to cover expenses that we hadn’t planned for.”
P.B. Loco’s executives had switched the company’s focus to wholesale operations. They recently aligned with The Cereal Bowl, a Miami eatery that serves breakfast cereals, to transform its P.B. Locos into dual-branded cafes.
“In a corporate e-mail sent out in December, we were told that we may have an opportunity to become a part of this new venture. However, the new co-brand is even more unproven (and) risky, and the first cafe isn’t scheduled to open until late spring in Miami,” Klesmit said.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
__________________________
Visit FRANBEST’s: Unbiased franchise information, franchise interviews and detailed, searchable information on 400 franchise and business opportunities.
.
Franchisees, customers & experts vote for their favorite new franchises at Top New Franchise: Who’s hot. Who’s not.
Yeah, cuz its too hard to make PB sammies at home.
My twins who are 4 can make them. I can probably hack out a UFOC or FDD for them.
If a business idea is crap, franchising it doesn’t make it less crappy.
If a business idea is crap, franchising it doesn’t make it less crappy.
…it doesn’t UNLESS you cobrand it with another crappy concept:
They recently aligned with The Cereal Bowl, a Miami eatery that serves breakfast cereals, to transform its P.B. Locos into dual-branded cafes.
Plus, their strategic plan has a Plan C in case that’s not enough: the addition of jelly. Or I’ve got it, a cobrand with the Pop Tart Cafe!
By the way, who is doing your twins’ marketing work? If they wire me $39,500 by the end of the day, IdeaFarm will pay for the brochure printing.
k. uh. I live in TO. I just got back from Scottsdale, AZ today.
THESE ARE THE BEST SANDWICHES I HAVE EVER HAD.
I REFUSE TO LET P.B. LOCO’S DIE. EVER.
SO SUCK ON THAT, HATERS! >:(
I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER writes: I live in TO.
Terrell Owens? Is that possible?
THESE ARE THE BEST SANDWICHES I HAVE EVER HAD.
You might want to stock up.
I REFUSE TO LET P.B. LOCO’S DIE. EVER.
We all need a cause we’re willing to die for.
SO SUCK ON THAT, HATERS! >:(
Unfortunately, this novelty franchise concept sucks enough for us all.
OK. The last comment was a bit flip.
Here’s a little more serious response: A great product is not necessarily a great business concept. And a great business concept is not necessarily a great franchise.
It’s possible to succeed with a single product franchise, such as Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, Cinnabon, etc. But these are products people do not perceive that they are able to make at home – unlike Peanut Butter sandwiches. They are also snack products that use as little square footage as possible. Isn’t P.B. Locos a sit-down, fast casual type concept with higher overhead?
I have a feeling they’ll do better selling their product through other avenues. In any event, it’s not working. Just like the Cereal concepts and the grilled cheese restaurant, Chedd’s.