Del TacoFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Del Taco franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.5M – $3.3M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.6M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 18.9% charge-off rate across 50 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.5M – $3.3M
- 99th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- 49th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 594
- 90th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 18.9%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
At 0.7x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1990. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 600 to 58 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
10 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.5M – $3.3M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.5M), with an estimated 16% cash-on-cash return (based on Operating Income).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 18.9% across 50 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- DEL TACO LLC
- Parent company
- Jack in the Box Inc.
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 25521 Commercentre Drive, Suite 150, Lake Forest, California 92630
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.7M
- vs $1.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Jack in the Box Properties
- Different Rules
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Del Taco franchisees operate quick-service Mexican restaurants focused on affordable, customizable tacos, burritos, and beverage offerings. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staff scheduling, customer service, and compliance with brand standards—while remitting 5% of net sales as royalties to corporate and participating in mandatory marketing fund contributions.
- CEO
- Lance Tucker
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1988
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 16
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 37 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Promotional Feenot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Land | — | — | |
| Fee for Architectural and Engineering and other Related Consultant Services | $27K | $124K | |
| Environmental Assessment | $3K | $34K | |
| On-site Improvements | $186K | $650K | |
| Building Improvements | $490K | $1.2M | |
| Furnishings, Fixtures and Equipment | $400K | $750K | |
| IT Equipment & Installation, Computer-related Services & Licensing | $59K | $100K | |
| Security Cameras | $6K | $8K | |
| Technical Support Expensesnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Initial Training Expenses | $194K | $253K | |
| Crew Training Expenses | $48K | $68K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $28K | $65K | |
| Inventory | $7K | $7K | |
| Licenses, Fees and Deposits | $3K | $6K | |
| Fee for trade area survey analysisnot refundable | $0 | $8K | |
| Development Feenot refundable | $45K | $45K | |
| Professional Fee | $1K | $5K | |
| Remaining Franchise Feenot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $2.6M | $6.2M |
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.
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
$210K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.5M – $3.3M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $28K – $65K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 6.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $173 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $35K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.5M
- Avg operating income
- $383K
- Reported as Operating Income in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 15.9%
- Based on Operating Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Average Sales and Operating Profit
- Sample size
- 387 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $380K→$6.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.7x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Del Taco Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 594
- Opened
- 58
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Turnover rate
- 1.5%
- Company-owned
- 133
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 78%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +9.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +53.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 32
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 1.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 0.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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
- 50
- Loan volume
- $46.7M
- Median loan
- $777K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 18.9%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 81.1%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 31
- Defaults
- 7
Vintage analysis
Del Taco charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Del Taco's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 10 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 25-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Del Taco presents a CAUTION-level risk profile due to active litigation involving franchise operations, marketing fund governance, and consumer deception claims, combined with modest unit growth and lack of Item 19 disclosure, offsetting otherwise reasonable unit economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
6 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $8
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
GNC Holdings, Inc. (and affiliated entities) filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 23, 2020. Plan of reorganization confirmed October 14, 2020. Entity reorganized as Vitamin OldCo Holdings, Inc., later converted to GNC Holdings, LLC.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG 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 55 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHSignificant litigation portfolio spanning wage violations, data breaches, franchise agreement disputes, and marketing fund mismanagement—indicating systemic operational and legal governance issues
- 02MINORMultiple lawsuits alleging deceptive advertising regarding ingredients creates reputational risk and potential regulatory exposure that could impact customer trust and sales
- 03MINORModest unit growth of 9.5% YoY combined with 594 total units suggests a mature/plateauing system; growth rate insufficient to indicate strong franchise model expansion
- 04HIGHLitigation related to alleged mismanagement of marketing funds raises questions about how the 5% royalty is being deployed and whether franchisees receive adequate return on mandatory contributions
- 05MEDHigh initial investment range ($1.5M–$3.3M) paired with average net income of $383K yields ROI of 11.5%–25.5%, which is acceptable but leaves limited margin for error given operational risks
- 06MINORAbsence of Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate whether the $1.6M average revenue and $383K net income figures are achievable or cherry-picked
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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Circular |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 2 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Orange County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 10 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
6 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 48 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- ULTRABOS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ULTRABOS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Del Taco · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Del Taco franchise?
The total investment to open a Del Taco franchise ranges from $1.5M – $3.3M, 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 Del Taco franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Del Taco FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.6M. The median is $1.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Del Taco's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Del Taco has a charge-off rate of 18.9% across 50 loans, meaning 18.9% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Del Taco franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Del Taco has 594 total units in the United States, including 600 franchised units and 133 company-owned units. 58 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Del Taco a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Del Taco as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 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.