Barrio franchise
2024 filing · April 30, 2024GrowingShares sales figures
Barrio at a glance
A taco restaurant and bar where guests build their own tacos from a list of fillings and toppings. At the end of 2023 there were 20 Barrio locations in the US, 12 franchised and 8 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Barrio Nation LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2021
- 3 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Cleveland, Ohio
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $889K–$1.36M
- The first restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- $30,000 for a second franchise and less for later ones
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross sales, paid weekly or monthly
- Brand fund
- None now
- Up to 2% of gross sales; not charged at present
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 20
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 12
- Company-owned
- 8
- Change in 3 years
- +12
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 7
- Most in Ohio, Michigan and Massachusetts
From Barrio Nation LLC’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Barrio among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Barrio | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,123,497 | Costs more than 85% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 20 | Fewer than 50% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $2,136,368 | Higher than 89% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.9× | Higher than 61% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Barrio franchise costs
Opening the first restaurant costs an estimated $889,197 to $1,357,797. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, page 1
Barrio franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000, $30,000 for a second franchise and less for later ones. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, page 14
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales, paid weekly or monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Up to 2% of gross sales; not charged at present. |
| Technology Fee | Our then-current fee, currently $199 per month. |
| Transfer Fee | $5,000.00 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, pages 14 and 15
Other fees as filed, from pages 15–17. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Barrio publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $2,136,368
- Median sales
- $1,646,103
Yearly figures for 2023, covering franchised restaurants open all of 2023 (9 locations). The average is about 1.9 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, pages 55–57
SBA loans to Barrio franchisees
Lenders approved 3 SBA 7(a) loans for Barrio franchisees from 2024 to 2026, $1.08M in all. None has been paid off or charged off 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
How Barrio compares
Of the 55 Mexican food franchises on this site, Barrio is the 46th cheapest to open and the 25th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Barrio | Typical Mexican food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $889K | $457K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.36M | $946K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $2.14M | $1.18M | $794K |
| US locations | 20 | 15 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 0% | 6.3% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 38 of 55 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 55 brands in mexican food franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0 (0) | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 7 (+7) | 8 | +7 | 0 |
| 2023 | 12 (+5) | 8 | +5 | 0 |
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.
Source: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, page 58
Where Barrio locations are
At the end of 2023, Barrio had locations in 7 states. The most are in Ohio, Michigan and Massachusetts.
- Ohio9
- Michigan4
- Massachusetts2
- South Carolina2
- Florida1
- New Hampshire1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| Michigan | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Massachusetts | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, page 59
Who owns Barrio?
Barrio franchises are sold by Barrio Nation LLC.
From Barrio Nation LLC’s 2024 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
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: Barrio Nation LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on page 14, bankruptcy on page 14
Barrio filings
The figures on this page come from Barrio Nation LLC’s 2024 filing, issued April 30, 2024, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | April 30, 2024 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other Mexican food franchises
All Mexican food franchises
Barrio is also on these lists: restaurant franchises, food franchises.