Breadsmith franchise
2026 filing · May 6, 2026Fewer locations
Breadsmith at a glance
A neighborhood bakery making hearth-baked breads and pastries for retail and wholesale customers. At the end of 2025 there were 21 Breadsmith locations in the US, 19 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Breadsmith Franchising, Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 1993
- 33 years of selling franchises
- First location
- 1993
- Franchisor based in
- Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $399K–$446K
- Primary store
- Franchise fee
- $49,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5–7%
- 7% of retail sales of goods made on site, falling to 6% in the second year, and 5% of other sales, paid monthly
- Renewal fee
- $5,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 15 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 21
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 19
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 3 years
- −1
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 13
- Most in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois
Support and records
From Breadsmith Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 57; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Breadsmith among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Breadsmith | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $422,750 | Costs more than 57% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $49,000 | Higher than 62% of franchises |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 21 | More than 50% of franchises |
How much a Breadsmith franchise costs
Opening primary store costs an estimated $399,250 to $446,250. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 15
Breadsmith franchise fee
The franchise fee is $49,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 7% of retail sales of goods made on site, falling to 6% in the second year, and 5% of other sales, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Transfer Fee | $15,000 |
| Renewal Fee | $5,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 10
Other fees as filed, from page 11. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Breadsmith 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: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 36
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $550K–$950K
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Breadsmith franchisees
Lenders approved 30 SBA 7(a) loans for Breadsmith franchisees from 1994 to 2026, $4.64M in all. Of the 26 that have ended, 24 were paid in full and 2 were charged off (7.7%). The other 4 haven’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, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Breadsmith | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | 0% / −5% | +3.3% / +5.9% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 10% | 3.2% / 11% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical bakery brand is the median of the 33 brands in bakery franchises with three years of counts.
How Breadsmith compares
Of the 112 bakery franchises on this site, Breadsmith is the 64th cheapest to open and the 51st largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Breadsmith | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $399K | $341K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $446K | $720K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $49K | $40K | $40K |
| US locations | 21 | 16 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 74 of 112 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 112 brands in bakery franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 24 (0) | – | – | – |
| 2020 | 22 (−2) | – | – | – |
| 2021 | 21 (−1) | – | – | – |
| 2022 | 20 (−1) | – | – | – |
| 2023 | 18 (−2) | 2 | 0 | −2 |
| 2024 | 19 (+1) | 2 | +1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 19 (0) | 2 | 0 | 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.
Over 7 years, from the start of 2019 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 24 to 19 (−5, −21%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2022 and 2024 filings.
Source: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 37
2019–2020: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2022 filing, page 37
2021–2022: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2024 filing, page 38
Where Breadsmith locations are
At the end of 2025, Breadsmith had locations in 13 states. The most are in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.
- Wisconsin4
- Minnesota3
- Illinois2
- Missouri2
- Ohio2
- Arizona1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Minnesota | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Illinois | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Missouri | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ohio | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Florida | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Michigan | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0 | 1 |
All 13 states
| South Carolina | 1 |
|---|---|
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Texas | 1 |
Source: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 38
Who owns Breadsmith?
Breadsmith franchises are sold by Breadsmith Franchising, Inc.
From Breadsmith Franchising, Inc’s 2026 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: Breadsmith Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Breadsmith filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Breadsmith Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing, issued May 6, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | May 6, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
| 2022 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2019–2020 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other bakery franchises
All bakery franchises
Breadsmith is also on these lists: retail franchises, food franchises.