Primos Mexican Food & Cantina Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $100K – $595K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Primos Mexican Food & Cantina is a Mexican restaurant franchise serving tacos, burritos, and cantina fare. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, bar, and dining service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA franchise requires a total initial investment of $100K – $595K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. 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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $100K – $595K
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 20
- 19th 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 $100K – $595K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 68/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 2 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Primos Franchise Holdings VIII, LLC
- Parent company
- RFT Investors, LP
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Founder and President
- Felix R. Calero
- CEO experience
- 30 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 5839 Mission Gorge Rd., Ste. C, San Diego, CA 92120
- Auditor
- Haynie & Company
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $614K
- vs $312K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Felix R. Calero
- Headquarters
- California
- Founded
- 1999
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 49% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
The filing's Item 7 TOTAL row prints $100,000 to $595,000. Its own line items add to $80,000 to $535,000. The total is shown as the franchisor printed it; the lines are listed as printed. Only one Item 7 table; its printed TOTAL ($100,000.00 / $595,000.00) equals the headline.
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Fee | $20K | $40K | |
| Travel & Living Expenses While Attending Initial Training | $3K | $8K | |
| Real Estate Improvements | $0 | $5K | |
| Rent & Security Deposit (3 Months) | $2K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $10K | $200K | |
| Equipment | $15K | $100K | |
| Furniture, Office Equipment & Software | $4K | $20K | |
| Signs | $500 | $20K | |
| Licenses | $500 | $5K | |
| Grand Opening | $3K | $9K | |
| Marketing & Marketing Fee (3 months) | $8K | $10K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $4K | |
| Legal Fees | $1K | $5K | |
| Opening Inventory of Supplies | $1K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $10K | $50K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $1K | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $80K | $535K |
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
- $100K – $595K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
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 6.5% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
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 Primos Mexican Food & Cantina 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
- 20
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 10.0%
- Company-owned
- 11
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 45%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 1
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 5.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 15.0%
- 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
10 current owners across 1 state.
- CA 10
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed (FDD Item 3).
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: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNo Item 19 disclosure
- 02MINORPositive net worth $109,501 and net income $471,437
- 03MINORNo litigation/bankruptcy; audited
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% 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 | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 50 |
| 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 | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | San Diego, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed (FDD Item 3).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 59 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 21 hrs
- Training location
- Training Center and nearby Franchises
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 21 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Cake POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Cake POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 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 PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA franchise?
The total investment to open a PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA franchise ranges from $100K – $595K, 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 PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA franchise owners earn?
PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA?
PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA is franchised by Primos Franchise Holdings VIII, LLC. Its parent company is RFT Investors, LP. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA 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 PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA (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 PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA has 20 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 11 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 68 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
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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.