Bar Louie franchise
2024 filing · August 22, 2024Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Bar Louie at a glance
A gastrobar serving upscale casual food and drinks, with catering and delivery. At the end of 2023 there were 66 Bar Louie locations in the US, 18 franchised and 48 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- First location
- 1990
- Franchisor based in
- Addison, Texas
- Typical size
- 6,000–8,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $1.06M–$3.95M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 1.5%
- 1.5% of gross sales to the marketing fund, within a 4.5% advertising obligation
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 66
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 18
- Company-owned
- 48
- Change in 3 years
- −3
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 21
- Most in Texas, Illinois and Michigan
From BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Bar Louie among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Bar Louie | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $2,506,750 | Costs more than 94% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 66 | More than 69% of franchises |
How much a Bar Louie franchise costs
Opening one Bar Louie costs an estimated $1,064,500 to $3,949,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are construction costs ($500,000 to $1,800,000) and business licenses and permits ($10,000 to $400,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50,000 | ||
| Travel/Living Expenses for Initial Training | $25,000 | $80,000 | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $10,000 | $400,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $2,500 | $25,000 | |
| Promotional Materials and Supplies | $3,000 | $10,000 | |
| Rent and Security Deposit | $60,000 | $160,000 | |
| Utility Deposits | $3,000 | $15,000 | |
| Insurance (incl. workers’ comp.) | $31,000 | $35,000 | |
| Construction Costs | $500,000 | $1,800,000 | |
| Architect Fees | $30,000 | $100,000 | |
| Branding Materials, Graphic Design | $5,000 | $25,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $50,000 | $64,000 | |
| Kitchen & Bar Equipment | $60,000 | $360,000 | |
| Smallwares | $40,000 | $50,000 | |
| Point-of-Sale System | $10,000 | $25,000 | |
| Fixtures, Tables, Chairs and Office Equipment | $70,000 | $350,000 | |
| Artwork | $10,000 | $50,000 | |
| Signage | $20,000 | $75,000 | |
| Grand Opening | $10,000 | $50,000 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $75,000 | $225,000 | |
| Total | $1,064,500 | $3,949,000 | |
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, page 17
Bar Louie franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1.5% of gross sales to the marketing fund, within a 4.5% advertising obligation. |
| Technology Fee | Currently, 0.5% of Gross Sales |
| Additional and Repeat Initial Training | Our then-current fee (currently $500 per day) |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, page 11
Other fees as filed, from pages 11–13. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Bar Louie publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, page 50
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $2.2M–$3.9M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Bar Louie franchisees
Lenders approved 5 SBA 7(a) loans for Bar Louie franchisees from 2012 to 2020, $7.63M in all. Of the 4 that have ended, 3 were paid in full and 1 was charged off. The other one hasn’t ended yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2023 / 2021–2023. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Bar Louie | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −10% / −14% | 0% / +3% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 5% / 14% | 2.5% / 13% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 5% / 4.8% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical restaurant brand is the median of the 301 brands in restaurant franchises with three years of counts.
How Bar Louie compares
Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, Bar Louie is the 684th cheapest to open and the 179th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Bar Louie | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.06M | $408K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $3.95M | $866K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1.5% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 66 | 14 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 474 of 813 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 813 brands in restaurant franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 24 (+4) | 110 | – | – |
| 2020 | 21 (−3) | 50 | – | – |
| 2021 | 21 (0) | 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 20 (−1) | 47 | +1 | −2 |
| 2023 | 18 (−2) | 48 | 0 | −2 |
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.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2019 to the end of 2023, franchised locations went from 20 to 18 (−2, −10%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2022 filing.
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, page 58
2019–2020: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2022 filing, page 55
Where Bar Louie locations are
At the end of 2023, Bar Louie had locations in 21 states. The most are in Texas, Illinois and Michigan.
- Texas12
- Illinois7
- Michigan6
- Florida5
- Virginia5
- Indiana4
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Illinois | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Michigan | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Florida | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Virginia | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Indiana | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| California | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Missouri | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Ohio | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 3 | 3 |
All 21 states
| Arizona | 2 |
|---|---|
| Arkansas | 2 |
| Colorado | 2 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 |
| Iowa | 1 |
| Maryland | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| North Carolina | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1 |
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, page 59
Who owns Bar Louie?
Bar Louie franchises are sold by BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC.
From BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC’s 2024 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 9–10. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | Its predecessor companies, including the former franchisor, filed for Chapter 11 in January 2020; the brand's assets were sold to the current franchisor in May 2020. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on pages 9–10, bankruptcy on page 10
Bar Louie filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from BLH Restaurant Franchises LLC’s 2024 filing, issued August 22, 2024; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | August 22, 2024 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
| 2022 filing | April 27, 2022 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2019–2020 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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