Own a Tony Roma's Ribs, Seafood & Steak Franchise

The brand that made ribs a household name.

Pioneering upscale casual dining franchise set for substantial U.S. growth.

Tony Roma’s is THE place for RIBS. Our fans have been rolling up their sleeves and enjoying our mouthwatering and craveable ribs all over the world — from Illinois to Indonesia to Ireland — for nearly 45 years.

Today our iconic brand is stronger than ever, with a new restaurant design and a popular new innovative menu. We’ve stayed loyal to the core DNA that has made us famous worldwide, and we’re attracting the next generation of loyal Tony Roma’s fans.

Tony Roma's 2.0 Unveiled

Tony Roma’s new restaurant design is attracting a new generation of fans.

• New leadership, new restaurant design and menu innovation stay true to our brand DNA while building for the future
• We offer a more cost-effective and smaller footprint so that the owner’s initial investment is now significantly smaller
• The compact design is more flexible to locate and allows franchisees to open in closer proximity to Tony Roma’s customers.
• It is also a much faster concept to build, allowing restaurants to open in about half the time it takes for a free-standing build.
• World-famous items like our Onion Loaf, Kickin’ Shrimp, Romarita® and a new craft beer selection highlight our consistently craveable menu

Training and Support

We set you up for success from opening day and beyond.

• Opening day at a new Tony Roma’s location actually begins with support three to six months out, with an intense focus on management training to ensure that every aspect of the restaurant, from food prep to finances, is as efficient as possible.
• All MITs (Manager in Training) travel to Tony Roma’s headquarters for training in each position and area of their restaurant. Tony Roma’s training team also ensures that the restaurant is designed for optimum flow so that launch day is smooth and error-free.
• As we train team members with a focus on being operationally excellent, we also focus on fun as we strengthen the culture of hospitality we are known for. 

Who are we looking for? Sophisticated operators with:

• Minimum $3 million net worth (not including residences, automobiles and other personal assets)
• Of that net worth, $1 million should be liquid (i.e., cash or easily convertible assets)
• Equity group buying affiliation
• Previous restaurant and/or hospitality experience
• A passion for people, hospitality, food, and the Tony Roma’s brand
• Personnel and financial management knowledge, as well as marketing and business development expertise

Would you like to learn more about investing in an iconic American upscale casual dining concept with untapped domestic growth opportunities?

Request more information below now. 

Opening day at a new Tony Roma’s location actually begins with support three to six months out, with an intense focus on management training to ensure that every aspect of the restaurant, from food prep to finances, is as efficient as possible. All MITs (Manager in Training) travel to Tony Roma’s headquarters for training in each position and area of their restaurant. Tony Roma’s training team also ensures that the restaurant is designed for optimum flow so that launch day is smooth and error-free.

“Our training team spends 14 to 21 days in every unit during a grand opening,” Buddy says. “I was tremendously proud and humbled by the response of the Thunder Bay Tony Roma’s ownership team.  They were, quite simply, blown away by the professional manner in which we opened that restaurant.”

Over the course of his 20-plus-year restaurant industry career, franchisee Rick Kille has witnessed training during many new store openings, including other restaurant brands and was thrilled with the Thunder Bay launch. “Tony Roma’s support staff is absolutely great and very knowledgeable. They know exactly what they need to do. They come in to the location and they are ready to go. We witnessed this in Thunder Bay, which had one of the smoothest store openings that I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with. It went off without a hitch and that’s rare. That really is a credit to the trainers who were sent up here. They did a great job for us, and I probably can’t say enough about that,” says franchisee Rick Kille.

• Tony Roma’s franchise candidates, individually or corporately, should have a minimum net worth of $3 million (not including residences, automobiles and other personal assets).
• Of that net worth, $1 million should be liquid, i.e. cash or easily convertible assets.
• We require you or one of your principals to have a background in restaurant operations as an owner, multi-unit franchise partner or operations executive.
• Although Tony Roma’s allows for single unit agreements, the current focus is in multi-unit development (3 - 5 units).

Tony Roma’s does well in locations with a large daytime population with above-average household income, preferably with lifestyle, business and entertainment activities in close proximity. Our upscale casual, full-service dining concept also has potential to thrive in areas with high traffic counts for both foot and vehicle traffic.

Good visibility and ample parking are a must. Tony Roma’s works well in locations where other polished casual dining locations work, such as large or secondary markets and malls and areas with at least 120,000 residents.