Is On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina or Red Robin cheaper to open?

On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina costs $2,932,800–$5,058,000 and Red Robin costs $2,705,000–$5,785,000 to open (FDD Item 7). Red Robin has the lower entry cost.

Which is the better franchise, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina or Red Robin?

FranchiseVerdict grades On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina B and Red Robin A, 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 Red Robin

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Red Robin are full-service restaurants franchises. On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina requires an investment of $2.9M – $5.1M while Red Robin requires $2.7M – $5.8M. On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina discloses average revenue of $2.5M; Red Robin does not report Item 19 data. Note: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. FranchiseVerdict rates On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina B (Above average) and Red Robin A (Strongest tier).

Metric	On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina	Red Robin
Verdict Grade	BAbove averageAbove average	AStrongest tierStrongest tier
Investment Range	$2.9M – $5.1M	$2.7M – $5.8M
Franchise Fee	$30K	$35K
Royalty Rate	4.0%	5.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$2.5MOutlet subset	N/A
SBA Charge-Off Rate	N/A	Limited data
Total Units	134	498
Unit Growth (YoY)	N/A	N/A
Year Began Franchising	1996	1979
FDD Year	2024	2025