Upstarts: Fast-Acting Franktitude

Franktitude expands quickly in South Florida as it prepares to take its gourmet hot dogs up the East Coast.

By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 1/1/2007

The Fresh Frank features a tofu dog on a whole-grain bun with artichoke hearts, cucumbers, tomatoes and carrots. Franktitude’s sleek, bright design includes photos of people eating hot dogs while engaged in activities like playing with a Frisbee and coming out of the shower.

CEO Ari Wurmann has no foodservice experience, but that hasn’t stopped him from opening Frankitude, a fast-casual gourmet hot dog concept, at a rapid clip. He has already opened three units since fall 2006, plans to open two more by February and will start franchising in 2007.

"To be big, you have to start big," says Wurmann, who worked as a brand manager at an electronics company in his native Chile before earning an MBA at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., in 2005. "I needed to capture attention, and opening five gives me that. Maybe I’m crazy, but it gives me that."

Center of Attention

Wurmann came up with the concept in 2005 after learning that 20 billion hot dogs are sold each year, yet there was no national hot dog chain. "If you think about burgers, you think McDonald’s. When you think about pizza, you say Domino’s or Pizza Hut," he says. "But when you say hot dogs, there’s no real big brand that you recognize as a leader. So I thought, here is an opportunity, and there’s a huge market, but for some reason nobody has taken that opportunity."

After raising $2 million from investors in Chile, Wurmann opened the first unit of Franktitude in Miami in September.

The concept offers beef, tofu, chicken and salmon franks and three types of buns: poppy seed, whole grain and plain. Toppings range from the standard relish and onions to the nontraditional hummus and artichoke hearts.

The menu takes advantage of its unusual toppings by offering items like the Unique Frank, choice of frank and bun, avocado, tomato, wasabi mayo and banana chips, $3.49 solo or $6.49 combo, which includes a medium soda and a side of french fries, sweet-potato fries, corn on the cob or coleslaw. But the best-selling dish is the Cheesy Frank, $3.49 solo or $6.49 combo, with chili, chopped onions, cheese and tomato.

Healthful options include the Ironic Frank, $3.49 solo or $6.49 combo, which only has 2 grams of fat. It features a tofu frank on a whole-grain bun with tomato, mushrooms, pickles and black olives. The Salmon Frank, $3.49 solo and $6.49 combo, comes on a whole-grain bun with tartar sauce, tomatoes, onions and sesame seeds.

Being Frank

Franktitude is on track to generate $500,000 in average unit volumes, Wurmann says. Since debuting four months ago, Franktitude has opened two stores in November and December in Doral and North Miami Beach, Fla. It will open two more by February in Pembroke Pines, Fla., and Miami, and expects to have 20 franchised stores open this year throughout the East Coast.

It costs about $220,000 to open a Franktitude, which averages 1,350 square feet with seating for 40. The company is looking for inline sites in strip centers near a mix of residential and office buildings because its customers range from professionals to families.

"Everybody likes a hot dog," Wurmann says. "Because we have all these different options, we can reach basically everyone."