Baja Fresh franchise
A fast-casual restaurant serving Mexican-inspired meals. At the end of 2025 there were 68 Baja Fresh locations in the US, 67 franchised and 1 company-owned.
- Cost to open
- $429K–$1.03M
- Franchise fee
- $30,000
- Royalty
- 5% plus weekly surcharge
- Locations, 2025
- 68
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Company snapshot
- SBA loans
- On the SBA Franchise Directory
From BF ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
How much a Baja Fresh franchise costs
Opening Traditional restaurant costs an estimated $428,560 to $1,034,290. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: BF ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC, 2026 filing, page 1
Baja Fresh franchise fee
The franchise fee is $30,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: BF ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC, 2026 filing, page 34
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales plus a surcharge of up to $10 per week. |
|---|
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: BF ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC, 2026 filing, page 36
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Baja Fresh publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: BF ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC, 2026 filing, page 82
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 67 (−10) | 11 |
| 2024 | 67 (0) | 6 |
| 2025 | 67 (0) | 1 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
Source: BF ACQUISITION HOLDINGS, LLC, 2026 filing, page 84
How Baja Fresh compares
Of the 75 fast food franchises on this site, Baja Fresh is the 27th cheapest to open and the 60th largest by number of locations.
| Measure | Baja Fresh | Typical fast food |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $429K | $548K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5.5% |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | −13% | +5.3% |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 57 of 75 |
Typical is the median across the 75 brands in fast food franchises.
