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About Us Franchising Franchise Real Estate and Financing Support Get Started Pre Application Form Download Application


About Us


Monk’s Bar & Grill is known throughout the Midwest as the place to go for a great burger and service. We’re not just a sports bar that loves their Wisconsin Badgers; we’re supporters and fans of local youth sports and schools in our communities.

Monk’s Bar & Grill began it’s a 70-year journey in 1947 when owner, Gustave ‘Monk’ Heineke opened doors in Wisconsin Dells, WI. The locally owned and loved establishment soon became a shrine of the University of Wisconsin Badgers memorabilia because of Monk’s sons’ success as Badger football players. Tourists have come from far and wide to visit ‘the Waterpark Capital of the World’ throughout the years; many of which have made Monk’s Bar & Grill a generational ‘must stop’, visiting with their parents and then passing on the tradition to their own children and grandchildren. It has been termed that Monk’s Burgers are ‘world famous’ declared by foreign tourists back in the early years of operation and due to the many seasonal workers who ventured overseas to work in the Wisconsin Dells area falling in love with this American icon. We have fans all over the world, but we’re most proud to call ourselves a true, original Wisconsin restaurant from the beginning.

We have since expanded to different areas in Wisconsin under the ownership of CFO Tom Heller in the past 35 years, but our burgers remain a staple on every menu. In keeping up with the times, we’ve upgraded our menu to include our delicious fried cheese curds, healthier menu options, and classic comfort foods. Through the last three decades, because of dedicated management and ownership, Monk’s Bar & Grill has developed into a must-stop for visiting families and teams, as well as a local watering hole for locals all around Wisconsin.


WHAT WE OFFER

  • A proven casual dining concept integrating fresh, high-quality ingredients, top-notch friendly service in a sports-themed entertaining atmosphere A menu that brings a wide choice of items for every taste and pallet
  • Flexible building layouts to fit pre-existing properties or a standardized plan for a new stick-built location.
  • Assistance securing financing through your local banking contact
  • Proprietary products, procedures, and recipes are proven to be effective and easy to incorporate
  • Strong support systems to ensure your success
  • Marketing support via social media, print, television, billboards and promotional activities
  • Periodic menu inserts to stimulate new business customers and more frequent visits from regular customers
  • Comprehensive training program for key team members along with “refreshment” meetings and seminars for Management and staff members
  • Our goal as your Franchise Team is to exceed your expectations by providing you with the systems and support to assist you in your journey to success.


OUR FOOD
Appetizers – From our cheese curds to sweet chili cauliflower bites, our appetizer selection has a little something for everyone. Our menu features classic appetizer selections such as Deluxe Nachos and Wings but also showcases some great recipes that are all our own like Monkey Fries and Wisconsin white cheddar cheese curds. Perfect for a family dinner or when you’re watching the game, our appetizer selection has something for just about everyone.

Monkburgers – Where it all began in 1947. Our ‘World Famous’ Monkburgers have taken on their own reputation in the Wisconsin Dells area because of the special proprietary blend of beef and high-quality ingredients used on each burger. Many have deemed Monk’s Bar & Grill one of the first craft burger bars in Wisconsin since we’ve been in business for more than 70 years. Keep it simple with our Cheeseburger, topped with real Wisconsin cheddar and fried onions, or try something has loaded as our Monster Burger with a half-pound of beef, crispy bacon, mushroom, American and Swiss cheese, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and our special Monk’s burger sauce.

Non-beef Burgers – Great non-beef options for our vegetarian friends. Current options include a black bean burger with Southwestern flavors and a California Turkey Burger topped with great fresh ingredients.

Sandwiches - We proudly offer classic sandwich options such as our Carolina pulled pork sandwich with creamy coleslaw and spicy BBQ sauce, but also step out of the box a bit with trendier options like our Beer-Battered Mahi Mahi Tacos served with Asian slaw, cilantro, and flavorful chipotle aioli. Other sandwich choices include Classic Reuben, Ultimate Clubhouse Sandwich, Philly Cheesesteak and Smoked Brisket Sandwich with Gouda cheese.

Wraps - For an alternative 'sandwich' option, our wraps are loaded with flavor and will appease even the pickiest of eaters. Choices range from the delicious simplicity of our BBQ Chicken Wrap or Chicken Tender Wrap to more robust flavors found in our Santa Fe Chicken Wrap or Brisket Wrap. Our wraps are a complimentary option next to our extensive sandwich list.

Salads – Fresh greens are important to any standard restaurant menu, but ours allow layers of flavor and quality ingredients for our guests. Whether it's a standard Cobb Salad or our fan-favorite Cranberry Mandarin Chicken Salad, our salads include fresh mixed greens versus the standard iceberg lettuce option. This allows for a higher grade taste when paired with other recipe ingredients in every Monk's salad.

Comfort Classics - Just like mom used to make, but kicked up a notch! Enjoy gourmet macaroni and cheese dishes or loaded tater tots for lunch or dinner. Instead of packing miscellaneous entrée options into this category, we opted to condense to a couple of different menu items and put our own tasty spin on it.

Desserts - End every meal with a sweet touch, choose from our favorite shakes/malts to a slice of Reese's Peanut Butter Pie or our Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae.

Monk's Bar & Grill prides itself on the quality of ingredients offered to our guests, which is why we are proud to say each Monkburger is pattied fresh from our own proprietary blend of ground beef, and have made a conscious effort to offer all-natural antibiotic-free chicken and turkey breasts. Our newest partnership comes from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board to ensure we provide the highest quality Wisconsin cheese to our customers.




Franchising

Financial

  • As with any developing franchise system, we receive many inquiries about buying into a Monk’s Bar & Grill franchise. To measure a candidate’s qualifications, we have established the following requirements:
  • Required liquid assets: $500,000 per restaurant
  • Required net worth: $3,000,000 per location
  • The minimum area development for future approved franchisees is 3 stores.
  • Minimum 2 years of restaurant/hospitality management experience Personnel and financial management knowledge, as well as business development and marketing understanding
  • A passion for food, people and the Monk’s Bar & Grill brand


Development of Location

  • Lot Size: 2-3 acres
  • Building Square Footage: 4500 – 7000 sq. ft.
  • Dedicated Seats (Indoor + Outdoor): 200 indoor + 75-100 outdoor
  • Dedicated Parking Availability: 90-120 stalls/per local ordinance
  • Signage + Visibility: min 2 building; one Pylon or Monument sign
  • Location: Major interstate, high-traffic 35,000+ cars per day
  • Access: easy in and out, major intersection with directionals preferred
  • Seven days per week of liquor sales.


Operations
Any Monk’s Bar & Grill restaurant franchise must at all times have a full-time, qualified, experienced General Manager (GM), usually the Franchisee. The GM must have 2 years of experience in the management of a full-service casual dining environment that includes alcohol.




Franchise Real Estate and Financing Support

SBA Loans
Many of our Franchisees have had success obtaining SBA loans for their facilities. Contact your personal or local lender to inquire about the availability of such loans. Monkburger will assist you in the completion of the needed documents for your application.

Location
Areas with a combination of high retail traffic (big box stores), daytime occupied office centers and corporate headquarters, areas with high volume or other restaurants, or close proximity to university campuses or medical centers. Surrounding residential areas are needed for evening traffic. Also, close proximity to sporting venues, shopping malls or theater is an additional preference for a location.

Monkburger will assist with site selection, building plans and remodeling ideas with pre-existing structures. We have a proven process and checklist that guides you through the site selection and building phase to the start-up and operational side of our relationship.

Monk's Training and Franchise Support
Business Development – Guide and advise franchisees on a method to evaluate market potential, traffic, restaurant site selection and Monk’s Bar & Grill customer profile. Provide key specs for restaurant developments and assist in adapting the layout, design, and operations of Monk’s Bar & Grill to ensure local market relevancy and consistency. Provide in-market support for initial restaurant openings.

Finance – Advice franchisees on the restaurant financial model, leverage profitability to affect profits, P&L statements and financial forecasting to make certain any new Monk’s Bar & Grill restaurant is equipped with the tools for success and profit.

Training & Development – Teach and grow franchisee knowledge to move towards self-sufficiency for the restaurant opening through various training programs. We provide a minimum of 30 days of training comprised of over 400 hours of classroom and on-the-job training. The training will be done at one of our locations in close proximity to your location for key personnel. Additional support will be supplied during your initial opening weeks.

Marketing – Supply franchisees with marketing and advertising tools to successful marketing Monk’s Bar & Grill to local guests/community. Coordinate and manage marketing tactics and strategies including consumer and demographic research, media planning, creative development, and social media marketing.

Supply Chain Management – Monkburger Franchise Group LLC has secured quantity discounted pricing on most of our highest use ingredients through various suppliers. All Franchisees are required to purchase through these Corporate approved vendors. This enables us to track costs and provide realistic financial advice to your operation.

Culinary – Create innovative on-trend menu pairings to all Monkburger Franchise Group locations. Culinary support includes menu design and delivery, product innovation, food trend research, and culinary education/development.




Get Started

Starting the Process:

  • Review our Website to refresh yourself with the information given throughout
  • Complete the Initial Application document and forward to us
  • Coordinate phone calls for both parties
  • Receive and review our Financial Disclosure Document
  • Schedule a phone call to discuss any concerns or questions about the FDD
  • Schedule a visit to our locations
  • Final review with Monkburger CEO
  • Sign an Agreement
  • Find a location
  • Begin the permit and planning process
  • Begin training program for key personnel
  • Pre-opening “soft” shifts with Monkburger support staff
  • Grand opening support through the first several days/weeks
  • Continued weekly support for Operations Manager, Corporate Chef, and other key Monkburger staff




Pre Application Form

Franchisees must print out the following form, fill it with the necessary information, and mail it in or scan and email it.

Download Application