Highlights
- Opening one unit is estimated at $548,100 to $1,294,000, including a $40,000 initial fee.p.24
- Qdoba discloses unit performance in Item 19.p.59
- The system went from 733 outlets at the start of 2023 to 827 at the end of 2025, a net gain of 94.p.63
- In 2025, closures of all kinds equalled 2.9% of the outlets open at the start of the year.
Tools, from this filing's numbers
Cash you would need to open
The filing's Item 7 range, $548,100 to $1,294,000, is an estimate for one unit including only its first months. Slide between the low and high cases and add the months of runway you want beyond that.
Monthly operating cash is taken as one-twelfth of your weekly-sales figure above times 52 (set to $15,000 a week here), a placeholder for rent, labor and food until you have your own budget.
Where the units went in 2025
Every outlet that opened, and every one that left, drawn from Item 20 Table 3 to scale.p.68
Total outlets, 2022 to 2025
Compare Qdoba with another brand
Side by side, every figure cited.
Fees (Items 5 and 6)
| Initial franchise fee, standard | $40,000 | p.16 |
| Royalty | not stated | |
| Advertising fund | not stated | |
| Technology fee | held for review |
The filing lists every recurring and conditional fee in Item 6.
Estimated initial investment (Item 7)
| Expenditure | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $40,000 | $40,000 | p.23 |
| Development costs: plans, legal fees, permits | $20,000 | $50,000 | p.23 |
| Leasehold improvements | $200,000 | $525,000 | p.23 |
| Furnishings, fixtures and equipment | $185,000 | $330,000 | p.23 |
| Signage | $10,000 | $35,000 | p.23 |
| IT and other Systems | $42,600 | $101,000 | p.23 |
| Opening inventory | $5,000 | $10,000 | p.23 |
| Travel and living expenses while training | None | None | p.23 |
| Miscellaneous pre-opening expenses | $5,000 | $15,000 | p.23 |
| Grand opening advertising | $10,000 | $25,000 | p.23 |
| Insurance (excluding several types of coverage) | $5,000 | $10,000 | p.24 |
| Liquor license | None | None | p.24 |
| Real property lease / purchase costs | None | None | p.24 |
| Business licenses, health permits and similar permits | $500 | $3,000 | p.24 |
| Additional funds – 3 months | $25,000 | $150,000 | p.24 |
| Total | $548,100 | $1,294,000 | p.24 |
Revenue (Item 19)
Qdoba reports Average Net Sales.p.59 What the figure measures, which units were excluded and what it leaves out are in the report.
Units (Item 20)
| Type | Year | Start | End | Net | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| franchised | 2023 | 447 | 571 | 124 | p.63 |
| company owned | 2023 | 286 | 176 | -110 | p.63 |
| total | 2023 | 733 | 747 | 14 | p.63 |
| franchised | 2024 | 571 | 613 | 42 | p.63 |
| company owned | 2024 | 176 | 164 | -12 | p.63 |
| total | 2024 | 747 | 777 | 30 | p.63 |
| franchised | 2025 | 613 | 652 | 39 | p.63 |
| company owned | 2025 | 164 | 175 | 11 | p.63 |
| total | 2025 | 777 | 827 | 50 | p.63 |
Openings and closures, system totals (Table 3)
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 447 | 140 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 571 | p.68 |
| 2024 | 571 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 613 | p.68 |
| 2025 | 613 | 57 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 652 | p.68 |
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 has not been read for this filing yet, or the two readers disagreed and it is held for review.
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 | $548,100 | 8 of 23 |
| Royalty plus ad fund | held | held |
| Three-year unit growth | 12.8% | 8 of 24 |
| Closure rate, 2025 | 2.9% | 6 of 23, 1 = most |
| Discloses unit revenue | yes | |
| Litigation disclosed | held | held |
Source
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions franchise filing 640022, effective 12/10/2025, expires 12/10/2026. Extracted 2026-09-03 by two independent readers; only figures both agreed on, whose quoted words appear on the cited page, are shown. 6 fields held for review. How this works.