Bonefish Grill franchise

2025 filing · April 25, 2025Fewer locations

Bonefish Grill at a glance

A polished casual seafood restaurant serving wood-grilled fish, seafood and craft cocktails. At the end of 2024 there were 166 Bonefish Grill locations in the US, 4 franchised and 162 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.

The business

Industry: Restaurant; Also listed in food
Franchisor: Bonefish Grill, LLC; The company that sells the franchises
Franchising since: 2002; 23 years of selling franchises
Franchisor based in: Tampa, Florida
Typical size: 5,000–6,500 sq ft

What you pay

Cost to open: $4.26M–$9.04M; Fee, build-out and opening working capital
Franchise fee: $40,000; Paid once, when you sign
Royalty: 5%; 5% of monthly net sales
Renewal fee: See terms; 50% of then-current initial franchise fee
Territory: Limited; Limited protection
Franchisor financing: None offered
SBA Franchise Directory: Not listed; Lenders check this list before an SBA loan

Where it is

US locations, 2024: 166; Franchised and company-owned
Franchised: 4
Company-owned: 162
Change in 3 years: −3; Franchised locations, 2022–2024
States: 27; Most in Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania

Support and records

Shares sales figures: No; Ask current owners what a location makes
Initial training: 524 hours; 59 hours in class and 465 on the job
Lawsuits disclosed: Yes
Bankruptcy disclosed: None
Latest filing: Apr 25, 2025; 2025 filing

From Bonefish Grill, LLC’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.

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Where it ranks

Bonefish Grill among all franchises with the same figure.

Figure	Bonefish Grill	Among all franchises
Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate	$6,651,500	Costs more than 97% of franchises
Franchise feePaid once, when you sign	$40,000	Lower than 46% of franchises
RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor	5%	Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate
US locationsFranchised and company-owned	166	More than 83% of franchises

How much a Bonefish Grill franchise costs

Opening one Bonefish Grill costs an estimated $4,260,000 to $9,043,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.

The biggest costs are building construction ($2,000,000 to $2,700,000) and site construction ($50,000 to $1,200,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:

What it pays for	Low	High
Initial franchise fee	$40,000
Building construction	$2,000,000	$2,700,000
Site construction	$50,000	$1,200,000
Design & site development (including professional fees, impact fees, permits and utility connections)	$50,000	$350,000
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment (including computer system)	$950,000	$1,100,000
Signage	$80,000	$250,000
Inventory – first 3 months	$247,000	$708,000
Liquor License	$1,000	$815,000
Utilities – first 3 months	$17,000	$46,000
Opening Crew	$65,000	$146,000
Pre-opening food and beverage costs for training	$17,000	$38,000
Pre-opening supplies	$5,000	$21,000
Pre-opening labor and training expenses	$69,000	$189,000
Other miscellaneous opening expenses	$26,000	$68,000
Insurance costs	$75,000	$125,000
Staffing & employment costs – first 3 months	$471,000	$918,000
Legal costs	$15,000	$70,000
Rent – first 3 months	$11,000	$103,000
Additional funds - first 3 months	$71,000	$156,000
Total	$4,260,000	$9,043,000

Source: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, page 22

Bonefish Grill franchise fee

The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.

Source: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, page 15

Royalty and ongoing fees

Royalty	5% of monthly net sales.
Renewal fee	50% of then-current initial franchise fee

The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.

Source: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, page 16

Other fees as filed, from page 18. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.

Sales and earnings

No figures Bonefish Grill does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.

Source: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, page 50

Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location: $3.9M–$6.7M

Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.

Growth and closures

Share of franchised locations, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.

Measure	Bonefish Grill	Typical restaurant brand	Typical franchise
GrowthNet change in franchised locations	−33% / −43%	0% / +3%	+1.2% / +10%
ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating	33% / 57%	2.5% / 13%	3.9% / 16%
Bought backLocations the franchisor took back	0% / 0%	0% / 0%	0% / 0%

Typical restaurant brand is the median of the 301 brands in restaurant franchises with three years of counts.

How Bonefish Grill compares

Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, Bonefish Grill is the 808th cheapest to open and the 96th largest by number of locations.

Figure	Bonefish Grill	Typical restaurant brand	Typical franchise
Cost to open, low end	$4.26M	$408K	$222K
Cost to open, high end	$9.04M	$866K	$477K
Franchise fee	$40K	$35K	$40K
Royalty	5%	5%	6%
US locations	166	14	21
Shares earnings figures	No	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

1 opened

4 closed or left

Franchised locations, last 3 years

2022

0 opened0 closed or left

7 (0)

2023

1 opened2 closed or left

6 (−1)

2024

0 opened2 closed or left

4 (−2)

Year	Franchised	Company-owned	Opened	Closed
2022	7 (0)	173	0	0
2023	6 (−1)	170	+1	−2
2024	4 (−2)	162	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.

Source: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, page 51

Source filing (2025, PDF)

Where Bonefish Grill locations are

At the end of 2024, Bonefish Grill had locations in 27 states. The most are in Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Florida47
North Carolina11
Pennsylvania11
New Jersey10
Virginia10
Ohio8

State	Franchised	Company-owned	Total
Florida	1	46	47
North Carolina	0	11	11
Pennsylvania	0	11	11
New Jersey	0	10	10
Virginia	0	10	10
Ohio	0	8	8
Georgia	0	7	7
Maryland	0	7	7
Tennessee	0	7	7
Colorado	0	6	6

All 27 states

South Carolina	6
Indiana	4
Alabama	3
Illinois	3
Kentucky	3
Michigan	3
Washington	3
Arkansas	2
Kansas	2
Louisiana	2
Nevada	2
New York	2
Texas	2
Wisconsin	2
Missouri	1
Nebraska	1
Oklahoma	1

Source: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, page 52

Who owns Bonefish Grill?

Bonefish Grill franchises are sold by Bonefish Grill, LLC. Its ultimate parent is Bloomin’ Brands, Inc.

From Bonefish Grill, LLC’s 2025 filing, page 9.

Lawsuits and bankruptcy

Lawsuits and regulatory actions	Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on page 14.
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: Bonefish Grill, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on page 14, bankruptcy on page 14

Source filing (2025, PDF)