DOS COYOTES border café Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Dos Coyotes Border Café is a fast-casual franchise serving fresh Mexican and border-style food with artisanal salsas. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A DOS COYOTES border café franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.5M – $1.8M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.5M – $1.8M
- 98th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 11
- 39th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $1.5M – $1.8M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThe figure shown was the 'Low Volume' two-restaurant band of seven COMPANY-owned restaurants in the Sacramento area (Table 1, printed p.39) — a slice of a company cohort. The only franchised outlets are two individual restaurants, one of which the FDD notes 'operates limited days and hours' inside a casino.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 51/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports gross sales and pnl rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Dos Coyotes Development Company, LLC
- CEO title
- President and CEO, LLC Manager, Founder
- Robert Davidson (Bobby Coyote)
- CEO experience
- 33 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 2409 Cook Out Court, Henderson, NV 89002
- Auditor
- Haynie & Company
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $171K
- vs $162K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Robert Davidson (Bobby Coyote)
- Headquarters
- NV
- Founded
- 1991
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 148% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $72K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1.4M | $1.7M |
| Total initial investment | $1.5M | $1.8M |
Source: DOS COYOTES border café 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
- $1.5M – $1.8M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $72K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $15K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $55K – $72K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
DOS COYOTES border café did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one DOS COYOTES border café unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
6%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
The figure shown was the 'Low Volume' two-restaurant band of seven COMPANY-owned restaurants in the Sacramento area (Table 1, printed p.39) — a slice of a company cohort. The only franchised outlets are two individual restaurants, one of which the FDD notes 'operates limited days and hours' inside a casino.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- gross sales and pnl
- Sample size
- 9
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales and pnl rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (0.0% 3-year CAGR) with 11 units.
Multi-unit rate
33% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How DOS COYOTES border café Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 18%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 33.3%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
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)
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
This is a micro-franchise system with serious franchisor financial health concerns, recent wage/hour litigation exposure, minimal unit growth visibility, and thin unit-level economics that warrant extreme caution.
Litigation (Item 3)
1) Wage and hour class action (settled $675,000, final approval Sept 2024); 2) Franchisee breach of contract suit (settled by mutual dismissal 2018)
Largest disclosed settlement: $675,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Haynie & Company
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 51 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor's financial viability is questionable despite Item 19 revenue claims
- 02MINORRecent $675,000 wage & hour class action settlement (2024) suggests systemic labor compliance issues that may plague franchisees
- 03MINOROnly 11 units with unknown growth trajectory — extremely small system with no visibility into expansion or retention
- 04HIGHHigh litigation history (2 disclosed actions including developer breach of contract) indicates franchisor-franchisee relationship problems
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Territory population | 10,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 | Clark County, Nevada (Home County) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | NV |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1) Wage and hour class action (settled $675,000, final approval Sept 2024); 2) Franchisee breach of contract suit (settled by mutual dismissal 2018)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 384 hrs
- Training location
- Company-operated Restaurant in Sacramento CA area
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
DOS COYOTES border café · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a DOS COYOTES border café franchise?
The total investment to open a DOS COYOTES border café franchise ranges from $1.5M – $1.8M, 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 DOS COYOTES border café franchise owners earn?
DOS COYOTES border café 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 Item 19 in the DOS COYOTES border café 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 DOS COYOTES border café FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is DOS COYOTES border café's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for DOS COYOTES border café (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 DOS COYOTES border café franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, DOS COYOTES border café has 11 total units in the United States, including 2 franchised units and 9 company-owned units.
Is DOS COYOTES border café a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates DOS COYOTES border café as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 51 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.