More and more, anyone who has a desire to open a business of their own are finding that opening a restaurant franchise is quite profitable. It is predicted that restaurant sales will reach $577 billion in sales by 2010. The restaurant business industry now employs 8% of all workers employed in america. That comes to about 11 million people, and makes them the largest employer next to the federal government.

Restaurants have already been satisfying the hunger of people for ages, and restaurant franchising is just about to add to the growth of the industry. In 1950, Colonel Harlan Sanders introduced his Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise and built a chain of over 600 restaurants by 1960. McDonalds was franchised in 1955, therefore were House of Pancakes, Tastee Freeze, Dairy Queen, and Dunkin Donuts.

Seniors (people born between 1946 and 1964) are often the folks opening new restaurants and fast food establishments. They have sophisticated tastes and the amount of money to make their ideas possible. Club sandwich demand fresher ingredients, healthier dishes, and vegetarian options. Seniors are credited with setting the pace for what does and doesn?t work in terms of successful restaurants. If they dine out they want top quality, no matter where they are eating.

More and more people are holding full time jobs, leaving little time to get ready meals in the home. Quick serve restaurants continue being fueled by the consumer?s ever increasing dependence on convenience. More than half of most adults say they are busy, and convenience is really a critical part of their lives.

While older consumers demand quality, younger customers want convenience. 55% of consumers between the ages of 25 and 34 admit they’re usually in a rush and want fast service. This sparks the growing dependence on quick service restaurants. Takeout restaurants may also be a growing trend. 78% of all households in the usa use remove or delivery service at least one time a month. These folks consider themselves very value conscious.

Many investors are buying into co-branded franchises. Co-branding identifies franchising several different brands in a single location (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, & Kentucky Fried Chicken). All three are housed in a single building, instead of building three different restaurants. These restaurants are responsible for more than 29,000 restaurants, and much more are popping up on a regular basis. There are also multiple franchising concepts with Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins in the same building.

Some franchisors take their products overseas. Subway has nearly 800 international franchises (not counting Canada). If you add Canada they number around 2,000. The size of the company has helped with their popularity in other countries.

Whether you are selling sandwiches over the sea, or have an upscale dining establishment uptown. The outlook looks strong for food franchising in the next ten years. So long as consumers continue steadily to eat at restaurants, the franchise opportunity is a gainful one.