Bandana's Bar-B-Q Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $380K – $1.2M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Bandana's Bar-B-Q is a barbecue restaurant franchise serving smoked meats, ribs, and classic sides. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing smoking, food prep, staffing, and service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bandana's Bar-B-Q franchise requires a total initial investment of $380K – $1.2M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $380K – $1.2M
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 27
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $380K – $1.2M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 65/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 20.0% CAGR over 3 years with 27 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Bandana's Franchise Systems, LLC
- Parent company
- Bandana's Missouri, L.L.C.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Park Ridge Midwest Restaurants, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Rick H. White
- CEO experience
- 2006 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- Missouri
- HQ
- 16141 Swingley Ridge Road, Suite 205, St. Louis, MO 63017
- Auditor
- Wipfli LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $32.8M
- vs $35.3M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Rick H. White
- Headquarters
- Missouri
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 19% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Lease Deposit and Rentnot refundable | $7K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $100K | $475K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $5K | $35K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Decor and Equipmentnot refundable | $80K | $250K | |
| POS Systemnot refundable | $15K | $25K | |
| Catering Vehicle (Van)not refundable | $1K | $15K | |
| Licenses, Dues, Deposits, etc.not refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Architectural and Engineering Feesnot refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses while attending BQ Schoolnot refundable | $20K | $40K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $10K | $12K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $10K | $15K | |
| Opening Team Expensesnot refundable | $10K | $30K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $70K | $245K | |
| Total initial investment | $380K | $1.2M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $380K – $1.2M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $70K – $245K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $15 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Bandana's Bar-B-Q makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Bandana's Bar-B-Q unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.5% — below the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System expanding at 20.0% CAGR over 3 years across 27 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Bandana's Bar-B-Q Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 27
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 21
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 22%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +20.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +20.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 3.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
26 current owners across 5 states.
- MO 19
- IL 4
- IA 1
- IN 1
- KY 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Bandana's presents a CAUTION-level risk profile due to missing financial transparency, questionable corporate stability, tiny system size, and gross-sales-based royalties without performance visibility.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Wipfli LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Consolidated statements of operations for Park Ridge Midwest Restaurants, Inc. and Subsidiaries d/b/a Bandana's Bar-B-Q. FY2024 (ended Dec 29, 2024): total gross sales $32,832,674 less discounts/refunds $583,473 = sales, net $32,249,201. FY2023: total gross sales $35,311,522, sales net $34,623,782. Other income, net $924,345 (FY2024). Net income $2,437,727 (FY2024). Financials are consolidated for the parent/guarantor Park Ridge, not the franchisor entity (Bandana's Franchise Systems, LLC) alone.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Revenue/Net Income) disclosed — impossible to assess unit economics or ROI
- 02MEDOnly 27 units system-wide — very small franchise network with unclear growth trajectory and limited economies of scale
- 03MINORWide investment range ($380K–$1.23M) with no revenue benchmarks creates opacity on what franchisees actually earn
- 04MINOR5% royalty on gross sales (not net) means fees are owed regardless of profitability in this capital-intensive QSR segment
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 4 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | St. Louis County, Missouri |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Missouri |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 42 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 200 hrs
- Training location
- St. Louis, Missouri (BQ School and existing Bandana's restaurants)
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor approves within 30 days
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR Aloha POS System and NCR Back Office System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha POS System and NCR Back Office System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
26 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bandana's Bar-B-Q franchise?
The total investment to open a Bandana's Bar-B-Q franchise ranges from $380K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bandana's Bar-B-Q franchise owners earn?
Bandana's Bar-B-Q makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Bandana's Bar-B-Q?
Bandana's Bar-B-Q is franchised by Bandana's Franchise Systems, LLC. Its parent company is Bandana's Missouri, L.L.C.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Park Ridge Midwest Restaurants, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Bandana's Bar-B-Q FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Bandana's Bar-B-Q FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Bandana's Bar-B-Q's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Bandana's Bar-B-Q (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Bandana's Bar-B-Q franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bandana's Bar-B-Q has 27 total units in the United States, including 6 franchised units and 21 company-owned units.
Is Bandana's Bar-B-Q a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bandana's Bar-B-Q as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 65 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Bandana's Bar-B-Q, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Full-Service Restaurants category
Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.