Wahlburgers
Disclosure honesty
Wahlburgers 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 made. FDD explicitly states neither franchisor nor subfranchisor makes representations about franchisee income.
Is Wahlburgers 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 $1,083,000 | pricier than 83% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 1.3%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
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 Wahlburgers
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations made. FDD explicitly states neither franchisor no… 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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Wahlburgers franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Wahlburgers franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $1,083,000–$2,799,000, including a $60,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Wahlburgers franchise owners make?
- Wahlburgers 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 is the Wahlburgers franchise failure rate?
- Parent franchisor WF suffered 85 non-traditional closures in 2024; subfranchisor early stage.
- Is a Wahlburgers franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Wahlburgers scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 8.5% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Wahlburgers to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Wahlburgers or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.