Question 1

Is Moe’s Southwest Grill or Mike’s Red Tacos cheaper to open?

Accepted Answer

Moe’s Southwest Grill costs $644,425–$1,968,450 and Mike’s Red Tacos costs $639,800–$1,988,000 to open (FDD Item 7). Mike’s Red Tacos has the lower entry cost.

Question 2

Which earns more, Moe’s Southwest Grill or Mike’s Red Tacos?

Accepted Answer

Moe’s Southwest Grill reports $1,182,975 average annual unit revenue vs $2,963,621 for Mike’s Red Tacos (FDD Item 19). Mike’s Red Tacos is higher. For Moe’s Southwest Grill: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system; Reported as net sales, not gross sales. For Mike’s Red Tacos: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance; Based on a single outlet - not a system average.

Question 3

Which is the better franchise, Moe’s Southwest Grill or Mike’s Red Tacos?

Accepted Answer

FranchiseVerdict grades Moe’s Southwest Grill B and Mike’s Red Tacos C, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Metric	Moe’s Southwest Grill	Mike’s Red Tacos
Verdict Grade	BAbove average	CAverage
Investment Range	$644K – $2.0M	$640K – $2.0M
Franchise Fee	$36K	$40K
Royalty Rate	5.0%	5.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$1.2MOutlet subset	$3.0MCompany-owned only · n=1
SBA Charge-Off Rate	12.7% (215 loans)	N/A
Total Units	568	2
Unit Growth (YoY)	-28 units	+0 units
Year Began Franchising	2017	2025
FDD Year	2026	2025

Moe’s Southwest Grill vs Mike’s Red Tacos