Moe's Southwest Grill Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Moe's Southwest Grill franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Moe's Southwest Grill discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses Traditional Franchise net sales by quartile for FY2025. Top quartile averaged $1.75M; bottom $719K. Excludes non-traditional, co-branded, affiliate locations; unaudited franchisee-submitted data.
What a Moe's Southwest Grill franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 3% 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 | $644,425 – $1,968,450 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
5% royalty weekly; 3% ad contribution (up to 4% possible); 1% local marketing. Extensive additional fees: POS, online ordering, loyalty, technology, training, transfer (10-50% of franchise fee).
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Moe's Southwest Grill system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 568 |
| Ceased operations | 33 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 40 |
| Transferred to new owners | 27 |
| Closure rate | 5.8% of outlets |
33 closures in FY2025; 40 non-renewals/terminations in FY2025; net decline 28 outlets.
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 Moe's Southwest Grill worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $644,425 | pricier than 66% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 5.8% of outlets | worse than 75% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 3 | more litigious than 74% of peers |
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 Moe's Southwest Grill
The franchisor's framing: Discloses Traditional Franchise net sales by quartile for FY2025. Top quartile averaged $1… 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
Moe's Southwest Grill franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Moe's Southwest Grill franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $644,425–$1,968,450, including a $35,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Moe's Southwest Grill franchise owners make?
- Discloses Traditional Franchise net sales by quartile for FY2025. Top quartile averaged $1.75M; bottom $719K. Excludes non-traditional, co-branded, affiliate locations; unaudited franchisee-submitted data. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Moe's Southwest Grill franchise fees?
- Moe's Southwest Grill's FDD discloses a $35,500 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 3% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 5% royalty weekly; 3% ad contribution (up to 4% possible); 1% local marketing. Extensive additional fees: POS, online ordering, loyalty, technology, training, transfer (10-50% of franchise fee).
- What is the Moe's Southwest Grill franchise profit margin?
- Moe's Southwest Grill does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses Traditional Franchise net sales by quartile for FY2025. Top quartile averaged $1.75M; bottom $719K. Excludes non-traditional, co-branded, affiliate locations; unaudited franchisee-submitted data. 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 Moe's Southwest Grill franchise failure rate?
- 33 closures in FY2025; 40 non-renewals/terminations in FY2025; net decline 28 outlets.
- How many Moe's Southwest Grill locations are there?
- Moe's Southwest Grill's FDD reports 568 total outlets, with 33 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 27 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Moe's Southwest Grill have complaints or lawsuits?
- Moe's Southwest Grill discloses 3 legal matters in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Moe's Southwest Grill franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Moe's Southwest Grill scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 3 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: MN CARDS 35791-202604-09 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Moe's Southwest Grill or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.