Cousins Subs Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Cousins Subs franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Cousins Subs discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses affiliate-owned shop gross receipts and EBITDA by revenue tier (3 years). EBITDA data is company stores only—no royalties paid, no corporate overhead allocated—making profitability appear better than franchisee reality. No franchisee net income shown.
What a Cousins Subs franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $464,700 – $1,164,500 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Local ad 3%, tech fund $300-$800/month, store marketing fee $10,000, renewal fee 50% of initial franchise fee.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Cousins Subs system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 92 |
| Ceased operations | 2 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 2 |
| Transferred to new owners | 5 |
| Closure rate | 2.2% of outlets |
Franchised outlets shrank from 48 to 34 over three years; franchisor reacquired 8 shops, suggesting systemic franchisee distress.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Cousins Subs worth it? — how it compares to 22 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 8.5%) |
| Startup cost | from $464,700 | about average (median $436,176) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 2.2% of outlets | worse than 61% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every sandwich & sub shops franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Cousins Subs
The franchisor's framing: Discloses affiliate-owned shop gross receipts and EBITDA by revenue tier (3 years). EBITDA… 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
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Cousins Subs franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Cousins Subs franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $464,700–$1,164,500, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Cousins Subs franchise owners make?
- Discloses affiliate-owned shop gross receipts and EBITDA by revenue tier (3 years). EBITDA data is company stores only—no royalties paid, no corporate overhead allocated—making profitability appear better than franchisee reality. No franchisee net income shown. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Cousins Subs franchise fees?
- Cousins Subs' FDD discloses a $25,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Local ad 3%, tech fund $300-$800/month, store marketing fee $10,000, renewal fee 50% of initial franchise fee.
- What is the Cousins Subs franchise profit margin?
- Cousins Subs does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses affiliate-owned shop gross receipts and EBITDA by revenue tier (3 years). EBITDA data is company stores only—no royalties paid, no corporate overhead allocated—making profitability appear better than franchisee reality. No franchisee net income shown. Recurring fees alone take about 8% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Cousins Subs franchise failure rate?
- Franchised outlets shrank from 48 to 34 over three years; franchisor reacquired 8 shops, suggesting systemic franchisee distress.
- How many Cousins Subs locations are there?
- Cousins Subs' FDD reports 92 total outlets, with 2 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 5 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Cousins Subs have complaints or lawsuits?
- Cousins Subs 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 Cousins Subs franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Cousins Subs scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Cousins Subs to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35541-202603-01 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Cousins Subs or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.