Wahlburgers Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Wahlburgers franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
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.
What a Wahlburgers franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 8% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 0.5% 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 | $1,083,000 – $2,799,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
8% royalty + 0.5% brand fund. Initial fee $40-60K depending on format. Development fee $100-200K.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Wahlburgers system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 25 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
Parent franchisor WF suffered 85 non-traditional closures in 2024; subfranchisor early stage.
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 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 are the Wahlburgers franchise fees?
- Wahlburgers' FDD discloses a $60,000 initial franchise fee, a 8% royalty on gross sales, a 0.5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 8% royalty + 0.5% brand fund. Initial fee $40-60K depending on format. Development fee $100-200K.
- What is the Wahlburgers franchise profit margin?
- Wahlburgers 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 Wahlburgers franchise failure rate?
- Parent franchisor WF suffered 85 non-traditional closures in 2024; subfranchisor early stage.
- How many Wahlburgers locations are there?
- Wahlburgers' FDD reports 25 total outlets, with 0 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 Wahlburgers have complaints or lawsuits?
- Wahlburgers discloses 1 legal matter 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 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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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.