Bruegger’s BagelsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bruegger’s Bagels franchise requires a total initial investment of $694K – $1.2M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $694K – $1.2M
- 91st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 59th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 181
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchising since 1993. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 53 to 49 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $694K – $1.2M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 67/100.
- System contracting at -7.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Bruegger’s Franchise Corporation
- Parent company
- Caribou Coffee Company, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- JAB Holding Company
- Predecessor
- for purposes of this Franchise Disclosure Document is our direct parent
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jose Duenas
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1720 S. Bellaire Street, Suite Skybox, Denver, Colorado 80222
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $970K
- vs $1.1M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Bruegger's franchisees operate quick-service bagel cafes serving breakfast, lunch, and specialty beverages. Day-to-day operations include managing bagel production, food prep, staffing (typically 8–15 employees), POS systems, inventory, customer service, and marketing within a protected territory.
- CEO
- Jose Duenas
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 1992
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 13
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Real Propertynot refundable | $25K | $56K | |
| Design, Permitting Feesnot refundable | $36K | $79K | |
| Building and Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $278K | $508K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $21K | $103K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipmentnot refundable | $223K | $273K | |
| Site Worknot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| Technology Suitenot refundable | $24K | $42K | |
| Start-up Inventory & Suppliesnot refundable | $10K | $14K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Utility Deposits & Licensesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Legal and Accountingnot refundable | $5K | $30K | |
| Trainingnot refundable | $6K | $12K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $15K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $694K | $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
- $694K – $1.2M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $13K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $14K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Bruegger’s Bagels Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 181
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.7%
- Company-owned
- 132
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 27%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -5.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -7.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 0.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 1.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 23
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Bruegger's presents cautionary risk: a shrinking franchise system with hidden unit economics, elevated capital requirements, and no transparent profitability data to justify the investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $35,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Grant Thornton LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSystem contracting sharply: 181 units down 5.8% YoY indicates declining franchisee success and network confidence
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure: Franchisor refuses to provide average unit volumes or net income, preventing ROI validation
- 03MEDHigh initial investment with opaque returns: $693,800–$1.2M+ required with no disclosed profitability benchmarks creates significant capital-at-risk scenario
- 04HIGHGoing Concern = False is ambiguous: Unclear whether franchisor itself has financial stability concerns
- 05MINORModest 5% royalty masks unit economics: Without revenue/profit data, impossible to model actual franchisee cash flow and breakeven timeline
- 06MINORQuick-service food model inherently labor-intensive: Bagel shops face persistent wage inflation, commodity cost volatility, and thin margins typical of QSR
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1.5 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Colorado |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 69 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 500 hrs
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- joint
- POS system
- NCR/Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR/Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
186 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Bruegger’s Bagels · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bruegger’s Bagels franchise?
The total investment to open a Bruegger’s Bagels franchise ranges from $694K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bruegger’s Bagels franchise owners earn?
Bruegger’s Bagels does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Bruegger’s Bagels's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Bruegger’s Bagels (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 Bruegger’s Bagels franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bruegger’s Bagels has 181 total units in the United States, including 53 franchised units and 132 company-owned units.
Is Bruegger’s Bagels a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bruegger’s Bagels as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 67 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.