Buffalo’s CafeFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
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]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $857K – $2.9M
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- 23rd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 23rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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 1990. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The system contracted 8% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $857K – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.4M/year (median $2.4M).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 59/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Buffalo’s Franchise Concepts, Inc.
- Parent company
- FAT Brands, Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Incorporated in
- DE
- 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
Overview
About
Buffalo's Cafe franchisees operate casual dining establishments focused on buffalo-style chicken wings and related casual fare. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen production, food quality control, staff scheduling, inventory management, and customer service across a dine-in or hybrid format. Franchisees are responsible for local marketing, P&L management, and compliance with brand standards while paying 6% royalties on net sales to FAT Brands.
- CEO
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1989
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$235K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $857K – $2.9M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · 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 gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.4M
- Item 19 type
- Historical financial and operating data
- Sample size
- 10 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Buffalo’s Cafe Compares
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 (yr3)
- -7.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -7.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- 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 20 · 14 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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)
Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands, Inc. (putative class action, securities fraud, pending). Tatum Global Services, LLC v. Fatburger/BFCI (franchise agreement dispute, concluded with $50,000 rescission offer).
Largest disclosed settlement: $50,000
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)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 rating
- 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
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE—suggests potential financial instability at parent company level affecting franchisee support
- 07MINORMultiple settlement violations and international development disputes indicate governance and contract enforcement problems
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 9 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands, Inc. (putative class action, securities fraud, pending). Tatum Global Services, LLC v. Fatburger/BFCI (franchise agreement dispute, concluded with $50,000 rescission offer).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 97 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 404 hrs
- Training location
- franchisor home office and franchisee restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 56 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
66 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Buffalo’s Cafe · FDD (2025) PDF
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. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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 risk score of 59 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.
For franchisors
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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.