Taco John'sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Taco John's franchise requires a total initial investment of $437K – $2.1M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 21.5% charge-off rate across 74 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $437K – $2.1M
- 76th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 343
- 86th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 21.5%
- 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
21.5% of SBA loans charged off across 74 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1969. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 367 to 357 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $437K – $2.1M including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.2M).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 85/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 21.5% across 74 loans (well 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
- Taco John’s International, Inc.
- Predecessor
- of ours
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- WY
- HQ
- 808 West 20th Street, Suite 200, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001
- Auditor
- McGee, Hearne & Paiz, LLP (MHP)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $35.3M
- vs $38.2M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service Mexican food restaurants serving tacos, burritos, and specialty items. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, staff scheduling, and local marketing within a protected territory. Franchisees manage 20-80+ employees depending on location and format.
- CEO
- Heather Leed Neary
- Headquarters
- WY
- Founded
- 1969
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 23
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Feenot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $20K | $25K | |
| Real Estate Purchase or Lease | — | — | |
| Site Preparation and Completion Costs | $250K | $500K | |
| Construction Costs | $650K | $900K | |
| Operating Equipment | $185K | $250K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Decor | $35K | $55K | |
| Signage and Installation | $30K | $70K | |
| Point of Sale System | $20K | $35K | |
| Digital Menu Boards | $35K | $65K | |
| Initial Inventory | $15K | $22K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $10K | $12K | |
| Pre-Opening Training (Travel and Living Expenses) | $35K | $45K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $20K | $60K | |
| Additional Funds | $25K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvement Costs | $350K | $650K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.7M | $2.7M |
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
$160K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $437K – $2.1M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $40K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $25K
- Better than 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
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $22K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Item 19 type
- Average sales for different prototypes
- Sample size
- 328 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $442K→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $758K→$1.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Taco John's Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 343
- Opened
- 16
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 20
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.8%
- Company-owned
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -1.1%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 19
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 31
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 92.8%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 1.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 6.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Washington
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 74
- Loan volume
- $26.5M
- Median loan
- $247K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 21.5%
- 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)
- 78.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 39
- Defaults
- 14
Vintage analysis
Taco John's 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 Taco John's'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 28-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 21.5% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 5 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Taco John's presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to declining unit economics, undisclosed profitability data, and a contracting franchise system without transparent financial performance metrics.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $25,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code in the District of New Jersey (Case No. 21-10269-ABA). Christopher & Banks is located at 2400 Xenium Lane North, Plymouth, Minnesota. It is not affiliated with us. Except for the one bankruptcy matter noted above, no bankruptcies are required to be disclosed in this Disclosure Docume
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · McGee, Hearne & Paiz, LLP (MHP)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 85 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.1% YoY) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet Income not disclosed in Item 19 — cannot validate actual profitability claims or ROI against $437k-$2.08M investment range
- 03MINORWide investment range ($1.64M spread) indicates inconsistent unit economics or unclear cost structure for prospective franchisees
- 04HIGHNo going concern statement is a minor positive, but combined with declining units raises questions about long-term brand viability
- 05MINORAvg revenue of $1.23M is modest for QSR; at 5% royalty this yields only ~$61.7k in gross royalties per unit, suggesting thin margins for franchisees
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius/Market-based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wyoming |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 28 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 180 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuikServe or Qu Beyond
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuikServe or Qu Beyond
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
16 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Taco John's · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Taco John's franchise?
The total investment to open a Taco John's franchise ranges from $437K – $2.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Taco John's franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Taco John's FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Taco John's's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Taco John's has a charge-off rate of 21.5% across 74 loans, meaning 21.5% 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 Taco John's franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Taco John's has 343 total units in the United States, including 367 franchised units and 7 company-owned units. 16 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Taco John's a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Taco John's as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 85 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.