ITEM
1
THE
FRANCHISOR AND ANY PARENTS, PREDECESSORS, AND AFFILIATES
The franchisor is Jo to Go
America, Inc. To simplify the language in this Franchise Disclosure Document,
the franchisor will be referred to as "Company" or "we,"
"us" or "our." "You" means the person who buys
the franchise. If you are a corporation, partnership, limited liability company
or other entity created by law, certain provisions of the franchise agreement
also apply to your direct or indirect owners and will be noted. These owners
must personally guarantee payment and performance of all of your obligations to
us. Company is a Wisconsin corporation incorporated on September 27, 2000. We
do business under our corporate name and under the names Jo to Go�, ,Jo to Go
Coffee� and Taco Flamingo�. Our principal business address is 1263 Main Street, Green Bay, WI 54302. Our agents for service of process are disclosed in
Exhibit 10.
We do not have any predecessors.
Our parent is Carina Holding
Company. It was formed as a corporation on January 2, 2007 and serves as the
parent company to Jo To Go America, Inc., Jo To Go, Inc., M2D Agency, Inc., Jo
To Go Licensing LLC, Turnkey Development, Inc. The principals of Carina Holding
company, Inc. are the same as those of Jo To Go America, Inc. The principal
business address of Carina Holding Company is 1263 Main Street, Green Bay, WI 54302.
Our affiliate, Jo to Go, Inc.
has operated a Jo to Go Business since October 1998. Its principal business
address is 1263 Main Street, Green Bay, WI 54302. As of the date of this
Franchise Disclosure Document, it operates 5 Jo to Go Businesses in Wisconsin. We acquired most of our assets, including trademarks and service marks and the
system for establishing and operating a Jo to Go Business from Jo to Go, Inc.
Jo to Go, Inc. also sells private label coffee under the mark Jo to Go Coffee�
on the Internet.
Our affiliate Turnkey
Development, LLC offers development services to our franchisees. It may also
lease the premises for the franchise to our franchisees. Turnkey Development,
LLC''s principal business address is 1263 Main Street, Green Bay, WI 54302. If you purchase development services from Turnkey Development, LLC, you will sign
a Development Package Agreement which is attached to this Franchise Disclosure
Document as Exhibit 5.
Our affiliate, M2D Agency,
Inc., offers advertising and promotional products and services to our
franchisees. Its principal business address is 1263 Main Street, Green Bay, Wisconsin 54302.
We have no other affiliates
which are providing products or services to our franchisees. We have no
affiliates which are offering franchises in any line of business.
We offer franchises to own and
operate a quick service espresso bar, cafe or restaurant, offering coffee,
espresso, smoothies and other specialty drinks, bakery items, fresh, authentic
Mexican food, and related food and drink products and merchandise. The System
is currently identified by and the espresso bar, caf� or restaurant is operated
under the dual brands of "Jo to Go
Coffee" or "Jo to Go" and "Taco Flamingo". We are
offering the dual brand franchise for the first time under this Franchise
Disclosure Document. Prior to 2008, we offered a single brand of "Jo to Go
Coffee" and "Jo to Go" (and previously "Jo to Go Drive Thru
Espresso Bar") and did not offer Mexican food. As of the date of this
Disclosure Document, all of our existing franchised units operate under the
single brand of Jo to Go Coffee or Jo to Go. One of our affiliate owned units
has added the "TACO FLAMINGO" brand and has been offering Mexican
food since October 2007.
You must sign our standard
franchise agreement (the "Franchise Agreement") which is attached to
this Franchise Disclosure Document as Exhibit 1. You must operate your Jo to Go
franchise following our specific standards, practices, specifications,
techniques, methods and procedures which are uniformly applied to all Jo to Go
franchises (all of which is referred to as the "System"). We may
change, improve or further develop the System at any time. We have the right to
change, substitute or alter the marks you are licensed to use at any time. The
service marks and trademark "JO TO GO COFFEE," "TACO FLAMINGO" and all other
proprietary trademarks, service marks, related designs, logos and other
commercial symbols owned by us now and in the future and used in operating a Jo
to Go franchise are referred to in this Franchise Disclosure Document as the
"Marks."
We currently offer franchises for 3 different models
of Jo to Go Businesses which operate under the marks "Jo to Go
Coffee" and "Taco Flamingo": a Jo to Go Double Drive Thru model
(dual concept); a Jo to Go In-Line Caf� model (dual concept); and a
Jo to Go Drive Thru Caf� model (dual concept).
A Jo to Go Double Drive Thru
(dual concept) operates as a quick service espresso bar from a freestanding
building of approximately 500 square feet and features drive through lanes with
drive-up windows on 2 sides of the building and walk-up windows for
pedestrians. The Double Drive Thru building is a distinctive design and will be
constructed at an approved location. All service is through the double drive
through windows or walk-up window. There is no on-premises seating. A Double
Drive Thru is generally located in out lots near prime retail trade areas. In
addition to the espresso, coffee, coffee drinks, and smoothies, the Double
Drive Thru will also sell a limited number of frozen/fresh bakery products and
Mexican food.
A Jo to Go In-Line Caf� (dual concept) operates as a
quick service espresso bar and caf� located inside another retail
establishment, shopping mall or a major entertainment or sports venue. An
In-Line Caf� may be approximately from 400 to 2,200 square feet in
size and will feature an order counter and seating for approximately 24
customers. The product offerings will be the same as the Double Drive Thru
except that the In-line Caf� will offer and sell ready
bake pastries and coffee-related retail merchandise.
A Jo to Go Drive Thru Caf� (dual concept) operates from
a freestanding building or from the end unit of a shopping center or strip
center and features drive through lanes and drive-up windows on one side of the
building and a walk-in caf� with a coffee counter and customer seating for
approximately 24 customers. The Drive Thru Caf� will be approximately 1,000
to 2,200 square feet in size. The product offerings will be the same as the
Double Drive Thru, except that the Drive Thru Caf� will also offer and sell
pre-packaged and ready bake pastries and coffee-related merchandise.
Unless otherwise specified,
"Jo to Go Business" or "Jo to Go Franchise" as used in this
Franchise Disclosure Document will include all 3 types of franchise offerings.
All 3 franchise offerings specialize in the sale of coffee, espresso drinks,
smoothies and fresh authentic Mexican food using ingredients and methods of
preparation specified by us, whole and ground coffee beans and a limited
offering of bakery goods. We may permit some Jo to Go Businesses to offer
delivery services. At your option, you can establish the franchise as a single
brand under "Jo to Go Coffee" and not offer Mexican food.
In addition to offering franchises for individual Jo
to Go Businesses, we also allow certain franchisees who fit our criteria to
become Multi-Unit Developers. Multi-Unit Developers open and operate a
predetermined number of Jo to Go Businesses in a specified Development Territory. The Multi-Unit Development Agreement is attached to this Franchise Disclosure
Document as Exhibit 4.
The market for Mexican foods,
coffee and espresso drinks is developed and highly competitive. A Jo to Go
Business must compete with other drive-through units which either specialize in
coffee or offer coffee as part of a wider menu, and caf�s, coffee houses, restaurants
and stores where the customer walks into the location to purchase coffee or
other drinks, and/or Mexican food.
We were formed solely for the
purpose of offering franchises and supporting franchisees. We have never
operated a Jo to Go Business; however, our affiliate Jo to Go, Inc. currently
operates 5 Jo to Go Businesses which follow the Double Drive Thru model. 1 of
the 5 is a dual concept business similar to what we are offering in this
Disclosure Document. Our affiliate has never operated an In-line Caf�. Our other affiliates have
never operated a business of type to be operated by you under the Franchise
Agreement. We began offering franchises in February 2001. We initially only
offered franchises for the. Jo to Go Double Drive Thru model. We began offering
the In-line Caf� and Drive Thru Caf� concepts for the first time
in February 2005. We are offering the dual concept for the first time under
this Franchise Disclosure Document. Neither we nor our affiliates have ever
offered franchises in any other line of business.
There are no regulations
specific to the operation of a coffee and Mexican food bar, caf� or restaurant although you
will be required to comply with all local, state and federal health and
sanitation laws and regulations which apply to businesses selling food and
beverages. It is your responsibility to investigate all applicable local laws
and regulations to find out what you need to do to comply.
