Culver's franchise cost 2026
From the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document of CULVER FRANCHISING SYSTEM LLC, registered in Wisconsin (filing 640580, effective 3/30/2026). Every number links to the page it was read from.
| Total initial investment | $3,406,350 to $10,294,100 | p.15 |
| Initial franchise fee | $65,000 | p.11 |
| Royalty | 4% of Gross Sales | p.13 |
| Advertising fund | 2.5% of Gross Sales | p.13 |
| Item 19 financial performance | average sales: $4,142,737 | p.36 |
| Units, end of 2025 | 1,041 | p.49 |
Units by year (Item 20, Table 1)
| Type | Year | Start | End | Net change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| franchised | 2023 | 886 | 937 | 51 | p.49 |
| company owned | 2023 | 6 | 7 | 1 | p.49 |
| total | 2023 | 892 | 944 | 52 | p.49 |
| franchised | 2024 | 937 | 990 | 53 | p.49 |
| company owned | 2024 | 7 | 7 | 0 | p.49 |
| total | 2024 | 944 | 997 | 53 | p.49 |
| franchised | 2025 | 990 | 1,034 | 44 | p.49 |
| company owned | 2025 | 7 | 7 | 0 | p.49 |
| total | 2025 | 997 | 1,041 | 44 | p.49 |
Openings and closures, system totals (Item 20, Table 3)
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 886 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 937 | p.53 |
| 2024 | 937 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 990 | p.53 |
| 2025 | 990 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1,034 | p.53 |
Estimated initial investment (Item 7)
| Expenditure | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35,000 | $65,000 | p.15 |
| Land | $225,000 | $2,400,000 | p.15 |
| Site Work | $356,000 | $2,193,000 | p.15 |
| Building | $2,047,000 | $4,391,000 | p.15 |
| Travel, Living and Expenses during Training | $20,000 | $80,000 | p.15 |
| Initial Inventory | $50,000 | $65,000 | p.15 |
| Furniture, Fixtures Equipment and Supplies, (Excluding Sign Package and POS Cash Register System) | $458,000 | $584,000 | p.15 |
| Sign Package | $88,000 | $300,000 | p.15 |
| POS System | $42,350 | $56,100 | p.15 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | $20,000 | $40,000 | p.15 |
| Additional Funds (working capital) - for 3 months | $65,000 | $120,000 | p.15 |
| Total | $3,406,350 | $10,294,100 | p.15 |
Item 19: what the filing says about revenue
Culver's reports average sales of $4,142,737 across 988 outlets.p.37
Scorecard
Rank among the brands on this site that report the figure, on each list's own direction. No blended grade. How the lists work.
| Cost to open | $3,406,350 | rank 10 of 10 |
| Royalty plus ad fund | 6.5% | rank 4 of 10 |
| Three-year unit growth | 16.7% | rank 3 of 12 |
| Closure rate, 2025 | 0.1% | rank 11 of 11 (1 = most) |
| Discloses unit revenue | yes | |
| Litigation disclosed | held | held |
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 has not been read for this filing yet, or the two readers disagreed and it is held for review.
The full Culver's report, $49
Every recurring fee, the Item 19 method and what it leaves out, three years of openings, closures and transfers, litigation and bankruptcy items, territory and renewal terms, and the questions to ask existing Culver's franchisees based on this filing. What's in the report.
The Culver's report is being written and will be on sale here shortly.
This is a summary of a public filing, not legal advice. Take the filing to a franchise attorney before signing.
Provenance
Source: Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions franchise filing 640580, effective 3/30/2026, expires 3/30/2027. Extracted 2026-09-03 by two independent passes; only figures both passes agreed on and that appear verbatim on the cited page are shown. 1 field(s) held back as unresolved. How this works.