Is Hickory River Smokehouse or Ginger Ale's cheaper to open?

Hickory River Smokehouse costs $315,000–$674,500 and Ginger Ale's costs $174,851–$809,817 to open (FDD Item 7). Ginger Ale's has the lower entry cost.

Which is the better franchise, Hickory River Smokehouse or Ginger Ale's?

FranchiseVerdict grades Hickory River Smokehouse B and Ginger Ale's D, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Hickory River Smokehouse vs Ginger Ale's

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both Hickory River Smokehouse and Ginger Ale's are full-service restaurants franchises. Hickory River Smokehouse requires an investment of $315K – $675K while Ginger Ale's requires $175K – $810K. Hickory River Smokehouse discloses average revenue of $1.8M; no Item 19 revenue figure is on file for Ginger Ale's. FranchiseVerdict rates Hickory River Smokehouse B (Above average) and Ginger Ale's D (Below average).

Metric	Hickory River Smokehouse	Ginger Ale's
Verdict Grade	BAbove average	DBelow average
Investment Range	$315K – $675K	$175K – $810K
Franchise Fee	$30K	$25K
Royalty Rate	5.0%	5.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$1.8M	N/AOutlet subset
SBA Charge-Off Rate	Limited data	N/A
Total Units	5	12
Unit Growth (YoY)	+0 units	+3 units
Year Began Franchising	2003	2021
FDD Year	2026	2025