Qdoba Mexican Eats Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $546K – $1.3M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.6M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Qdoba Mexican Eats is a fast-casual franchise serving build-your-own burritos, bowls, tacos, and queso. Franchisees run counter-service restaurants managing food prep, catering, digital orders, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Qdoba Mexican Eats franchise requires a total initial investment of $546K – $1.3M, including a $20K – $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.6M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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
- $546K – $1.3M
- 79th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Net sales30th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 777
- 91st 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 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 $546K – $1.3M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.5M), with an estimated 24% cash-on-cash return (based on Franchise EBITDA - Pre-Fees).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 96/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +42 franchised outlets in the latest year (52 opened, 10 closed); 13 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 37.1% CAGR over 3 years with 777 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Qdoba Franchisor LLC
- Parent company
- Qdoba Funding LLC (direct parent); ultimate indirect parents include Qdoba Funding Holdco LLC, Quidditch Acquisition Inc., MRC Parent entities, owned by investment funds managed by Butterfly Equity LP
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2024 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Butterfly Equity LP (via investment funds); direct chain: Qdoba Funding LLC -> Qdoba Funding Holdco LLC -> QRC/QAI -> MRC Parent Entities
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- Qdoba Restaurant Corporation (formerly Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill and Z-TECA)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- John C. Cywinski
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 350 Camino De La Reina, Suite 400, San Diego, California 92108
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- John C. Cywinski
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1995
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 43
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 89% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee (Traditional)not refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Development costs: plans, legal fees, permits (Traditional) | $20K | $50K | |
| Leasehold improvements (Traditional) | $200K | $525K | |
| Furnishings, fixtures and equipment (Traditional) | $185K | $330K | |
| Signage (Traditional) | $10K | $35K | |
| IT and other Systems (Traditional) | $40K | $101K | |
| Opening inventory (Traditional) | $5K | $10K | |
| Travel and living expenses while training (Traditional) | — | — | |
| Miscellaneous pre-opening expenses (Traditional) | $5K | $15K | |
| Grand opening advertising (Traditional) | $10K | $25K | |
| Insurance (Traditional) | $5K | $10K | |
| Liquor license (Traditional) | — | — | |
| Real property lease / purchase costs (Traditional) | — | — | |
| Business licenses, health permits and similar permits (Traditional) | $500 | $3K | |
| Additional funds - 3 months (Traditional) | $25K | $150K | |
| Total initial investment | $546K | $1.3M |
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
- $546K – $1.3M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $150K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.8%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.8%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.1 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.8% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $14K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 7.8% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 67% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 Qdoba Mexican Eats 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
$1.0M
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
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $403K as Franchise EBITDA - Pre-Fees. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for Qdoba Mexican Eats.
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 Qdoba Mexican Eats 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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.5M
- Avg franchise ebitda - pre-fees
- $403K
- Reported as Franchise EBITDA - Pre-Fees in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 24.1%
- Based on Franchise EBITDA - Pre-Fees / investment midpoint
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
- 444 outlets
- vs category median 19 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $417K→$5.5MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 57 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $926K→$2.5M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-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 $1.6M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.8x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.8% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 37.1% CAGR over 3 years across 777 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 medians
How Qdoba Mexican Eats Compares
Category median of published Quick-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 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 777
- Opened
- 52
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 10
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.3%
- Company-owned
- 164
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 79%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +37.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +37.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 13
- 0.02 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 52
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 0.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 98.4%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 40 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
524 current owners across 40 states.
- WI 58
- IN 41
- MO 31
- OK 29
- KY 28
- MN 24
- VA 21
- NJ 20
- PA 20
- WA 19
- FL 18
- MD 18
- +28 more states
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
Large established restaurant franchisor (since 1997) with parent-level financials showing $121,607,000 net worth, $304,272,000 revenue, and $29,143,000 net income across 777 units. Only 2 litigation matters - negligible for the system size. No bankruptcy or going-concern; audited with Item 19.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Two franchisee cases: (1) Q of Hasbrouck Heights, LLC v. Qdoba settled October 2023 for $600,000, royalty reduction, and franchise extension; (2) Fiesta Ventures of Bevercreek, LLC and Fiesta Ventures DM, LLC v. Qdoba filed November 2024 involving breach of contract and unfair business practices claims.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor total revenue figures are from indirect parent Qdoba Funding Holdco LLC's audited consolidated financial statements for the stub period 11/28/2023-9/29/2024 (Qdoba Franchisor LLC itself was formed 9/7/2023 and has no full prior-year standalone financials)
ⓘ 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: No
- 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 96 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORStrong parent-level net worth $121,607,000 and net income $29,143,000
- 02HIGHOnly 2 litigation matters across 777 units
- 03MEDNo bankruptcy or going-concern; audited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.8% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 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 | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two franchisee cases: (1) Q of Hasbrouck Heights, LLC v. Qdoba settled October 2023 for $600,000, royalty reduction, and franchise extension; (2) Fiesta Ventures of Bevercreek, LLC and Fiesta Ventures DM, LLC v. Qdoba filed November 2024 involving breach of contract and unfair business practices claims.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 9 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 270 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee proposes, franchisor accepts or rejects
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
524 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 Qdoba Mexican Eats franchise?
The total investment to open a Qdoba Mexican Eats franchise ranges from $546K – $1.3M, 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 Qdoba Mexican Eats franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Qdoba Mexican Eats FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.6M. The median is $1.5M. 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 Qdoba Mexican Eats?
Qdoba Mexican Eats is franchised by Qdoba Franchisor LLC. Its parent company is Qdoba Funding LLC (direct parent); ultimate indirect parents include Qdoba Funding Holdco LLC, Quidditch Acquisition Inc., MRC Parent entities, owned by investment funds managed by Butterfly Equity LP. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Butterfly Equity LP (via investment funds); direct chain: Qdoba Funding LLC -> Qdoba Funding Holdco LLC -> QRC/QAI -> MRC Parent Entities. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Qdoba Mexican Eats 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 Qdoba Mexican Eats FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Qdoba Mexican Eats's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Qdoba Mexican Eats (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 Qdoba Mexican Eats franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Qdoba Mexican Eats has 777 total units in the United States, including 613 franchised units and 164 company-owned units. 52 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Qdoba Mexican Eats a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Qdoba Mexican Eats as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 96 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.