Country Kitchen Restaurants Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Country Kitchen Restaurants discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly disclaims any representations about franchisee future financial performance or past outlet performance.
What a Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 4% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $415,000 – $1,719,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 4-5% GR; Ad fund 1% production + 3% regional/national (capped 3% total); multiple additional fees possible.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Country Kitchen Restaurants system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 18 |
| Ceased operations | 2 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 11.1% of outlets |
10% net unit decline 2023-2025 (22 to 18); 4 closures in 3 years; modest growth potential.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Country Kitchen Restaurants worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8.5% of sales | steeper than 64% of quick service restaurants franchises |
| Startup cost | from $415,000 | about average (median $481,500) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 11.1% of outlets | worse than 87% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every quick service restaurants franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Country Kitchen Restaurants
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly disclaims any re… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $415,000–$1,719,000, including a $40,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise owners make?
- Country Kitchen Restaurants discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise fees?
- Country Kitchen Restaurants' FDD discloses a $40,000 initial franchise fee, a 4.5% royalty on gross sales, a 4% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 4-5% GR; Ad fund 1% production + 3% regional/national (capped 3% total); multiple additional fees possible.
- What is the Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise profit margin?
- Country Kitchen Restaurants discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise failure rate?
- 10% net unit decline 2023-2025 (22 to 18); 4 closures in 3 years; modest growth potential.
- How many Country Kitchen Restaurants locations are there?
- Country Kitchen Restaurants' FDD reports 18 total outlets, with 2 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Country Kitchen Restaurants have complaints or lawsuits?
- Country Kitchen Restaurants discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Country Kitchen Restaurants franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Country Kitchen Restaurants scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 8.5% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Country Kitchen Restaurants to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Country Kitchen Restaurants or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.