Buffalo’s Cafe Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $857K – $2.9M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.4M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Buffalo's Cafe is a casual-dining franchise known for buffalo wings and American comfort food. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, table service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Buffalo’s Cafe franchise requires a total initial investment of $857K – $2.9M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.4M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $857K – $2.9M
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Net sales11th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 15th 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 $857K – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.4M/year (median $2.4M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 50/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 1 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc.
- Parent company
- FAT Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 9720 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500, Beverly Hills, California 90212
- Auditor
- Macias Gini & O'Connell LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.3M
- vs $2.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 10
12 other brands on this site name FAT Brands, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
- Elevation BurgerC
- FatburgerD
- Fazoli'sC
- GREAT AMERICAN COOKIESA
- HOT DOG ON A STICKB
- Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos WingsB
- Johnny RocketsD
- Marble Slab CreameryC
- Native Grill and WingsB
- PretzelmakerB
- Round Table PizzaB
- Twin PeaksA
Portfolio: FAT Brands
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1989
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 179% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $777K | $2.8M |
| Total initial investment | $857K | $2.9M |
Source: Buffalo’s Cafe 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $857K – $2.9M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of net sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $48K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $26K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 47% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Buffalo’s Cafe until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.9M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Buffalo’s Cafe 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 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.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.4M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Net Sales
- Sample size
- 10 outlets
- vs category median 18
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$3.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 72 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.4M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -7.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Buffalo’s Cafe 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
- 12
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 8.3%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -7.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -7.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.08 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 8.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 92.3%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 8.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
11 current owners across 1 state.
- GA 11
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 71 entries carry no state. 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
Buffalo's Cafe operates within a contracting franchise system under a parent company facing securities litigation and disclosure violations, with no disclosed net income data and concerning governance issues that create substantial operational and financial risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Pending: 1 securities class action (Kates v. FAT Brands). Concluded: Tatum (franchise/civil rights, settled $40K); Matthews/Chipman securities class action (settled $2.5M + $500K stock); Virginia SCC v. FBNA (2 matters, registration violations); Shahi v. FBNA (international franchise rescission, dismissed); P&K Food Market v. BFCI (franchise sale fraud, dismissed 2019); Rojany/Vignola securities class actions (settled $50K and $75K)
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Macias Gini & O'Connell LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 6 states franchisor's total revenue for fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 was $2,252,975, none of which was derived from required purchases or leases from franchisees. Audited consolidated financial statement tables (balance sheet / statement of operations) were not present in the provided text extract (it ends at the Independent Auditor's Report for Buffalo's Franchise Concepts Inc.), so net worth/assets/liabilities/net income could not be read.
ⓘ 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: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 50 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 7.7% YoY (12 units total) indicating system contraction and weak franchisee retention
- 02MINORParent company (FAT Brands) facing multiple securities class actions for alleged false statements and misrepresentation—direct credibility and disclosure risk
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19—prevents ROI validation and suggests either poor performance or deliberate opacity
- 04HIGHHigh litigation exposure: securities fraud, registration violations in Virginia, breach of contract, and misrepresentation claims regarding international development
- 05MINORInvestment range of $857K–$2.9M is substantial with 6% royalty; declining unit count raises franchise viability questions
- 06MINORMultiple settlement violations and international development disputes indicate governance and contract enforcement problems
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 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 | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Los Angeles, California (county of franchisor headquarters) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 9 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Pending: 1 securities class action (Kates v. FAT Brands). Concluded: Tatum (franchise/civil rights, settled $40K); Matthews/Chipman securities class action (settled $2.5M + $500K stock); Virginia SCC v. FBNA (2 matters, registration violations); Shahi v. FBNA (international franchise rescission, dismissed); P&K Food Market v. BFCI (franchise sale fraud, dismissed 2019); Rojany/Vignola securities class actions (settled $50K and $75K)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 76 hrs
- Training location
- BFCI home office or designated training restaurant (Issaquah WA; Los Angeles CA; Fresno CA; Beverly Hills CA)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 56 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 8 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval; must use designated/approved real estate broker
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
82 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 Buffalo’s Cafe franchise?
The total investment to open a Buffalo’s Cafe franchise ranges from $857K – $2.9M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Buffalo’s Cafe franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Buffalo’s Cafe FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.4M. The median is $2.4M. Important context: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Buffalo’s Cafe?
Buffalo’s Cafe is franchised by Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc.. Its parent company is FAT Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Buffalo’s Cafe 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 Buffalo’s Cafe FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Buffalo’s Cafe's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Buffalo’s Cafe (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 Buffalo’s Cafe franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Buffalo’s Cafe has 12 total units in the United States, including 12 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Buffalo’s Cafe a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Buffalo’s Cafe as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 50 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?
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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.