Chipotle's former CEO (and I believe founder) often mentions that Chipotle's time under McD's ownership hammered home that the single most important element of

Chipotle's former CEO (and I believe founder) often mentions that Chipotle's time under McD's ownership hammered home that the single most important element of the company's success was excellence in real estate. It's also why getting a McDonald's franchise is generally very expensive - they'll give you as de-risked a location as possible and a proven operational playbook. It's not easy to run a franchise at all (you have to be available on days your manager calls in sick, deal with vendors, inventory, etc), but you don't need to figure out the business model at all.