Is Buffalo’s Cafe or Friendly’s cheaper to open?

Buffalo’s Cafe costs $857,300–$2,930,600 and Friendly’s costs $1,110,680–$2,682,435 to open (FDD Item 7). Buffalo’s Cafe has the lower entry cost.

Which is the better franchise, Buffalo’s Cafe or Friendly’s?

FranchiseVerdict grades Buffalo’s Cafe B and Friendly’s B, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Buffalo’s Cafe vs Friendly’s

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both Buffalo’s Cafe and Friendly’s are full-service restaurants franchises. Buffalo’s Cafe requires an investment of $857K – $2.9M while Friendly’s requires $1.1M – $2.7M. Buffalo’s Cafe discloses average revenue of $2.4M; no Item 19 revenue figure is on file for Friendly’s. Note: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Friendly’s has SBA lending data on file with a 6.5% charge-off rate. FranchiseVerdict rates Buffalo’s Cafe B (Above average) and Friendly’s B (Above average).

Metric	Buffalo’s Cafe	Friendly’s
Verdict Grade	BAbove average	BAbove average
Investment Range	$857K – $2.9M	$1.1M – $2.7M
Franchise Fee	$50K	$30K
Royalty Rate	6.0%	6.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$2.4M	N/A
SBA Charge-Off Rate	N/A	6.5% (37 loans)
Total Units	12	95
Unit Growth (YoY)	-1 units	+8 units
Year Began Franchising	1989	1986
FDD Year	2025	2025