Is CoreLife Eatery or Qdoba Mexican Eats cheaper to open?

CoreLife Eatery costs $789,500–$1,044,000 and Qdoba Mexican Eats costs $545,500–$1,294,000 to open (FDD Item 7). Qdoba Mexican Eats has the lower entry cost.

Which is the better franchise, CoreLife Eatery or Qdoba Mexican Eats?

FranchiseVerdict grades CoreLife Eatery B and Qdoba Mexican Eats A, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

CoreLife Eatery vs Qdoba Mexican Eats

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both CoreLife Eatery and Qdoba Mexican Eats are quick-service restaurants franchises. CoreLife Eatery requires an investment of $790K – $1.0M while Qdoba Mexican Eats requires $546K – $1.3M. Qdoba Mexican Eats discloses average revenue of $1.6M; CoreLife Eatery does not report Item 19 data. CoreLife Eatery has SBA lending data on file with a 0.0% charge-off rate. FranchiseVerdict rates CoreLife Eatery B (Above average) and Qdoba Mexican Eats A (Strongest tier).

Metric	CoreLife Eatery	Qdoba Mexican Eats
Verdict Grade	BAbove averageAbove average	AStrongest tierStrongest tier
Investment Range	$790K – $1.0M	$546K – $1.3M
Franchise Fee	$35K	$40K
Royalty Rate	5.0%	5.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	N/A	$1.6M
SBA Charge-Off Rate	0.0% (15 loans)	N/A
Total Units	49	777
Unit Growth (YoY)	N/A	N/A
Year Began Franchising	2016	1997
FDD Year	2024	2024