Is On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina or Cowboy Jack’s cheaper to open?

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina costs $2,932,800–$5,058,000 and Cowboy Jack’s costs $2,271,550–$6,130,000 to open (FDD Item 7). Cowboy Jack’s has the lower entry cost.

Which is the better franchise, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina or Cowboy Jack’s?

FranchiseVerdict grades On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina B and Cowboy Jack’s B, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina vs Cowboy Jack’s

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Cowboy Jack’s are full-service restaurants franchises. On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina requires an investment of $2.9M – $5.1M while Cowboy Jack’s requires $2.3M – $6.1M. On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina discloses average revenue of $2.5M; Cowboy Jack’s makes no financial performance representation in its Item 19, which is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule. Note: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. FranchiseVerdict rates On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina B (Above average) and Cowboy Jack’s B (Above average).

Metric	On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina	Cowboy Jack’s
Verdict Grade	BAbove average	BAbove average
Investment Range	$2.9M – $5.1M	$2.3M – $6.1M
Franchise Fee	$30K	$45K
Royalty Rate	4.0%	5.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$2.5MOutlet subset	N/ANo Item 19 representation
SBA Charge-Off Rate	N/A	N/A
Total Units	134	10
Unit Growth (YoY)	+2 units	+0 units
Year Began Franchising	1996	2025
FDD Year	2024	2025