Buffalo's Cafe franchise
2025 filing · April 30, 2025Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Buffalo's Cafe at a glance
A casual dining restaurant serving classic and regional American food. At the end of 2024 there were 12 Buffalo's Cafe locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $857K–$2.93M
- A full-service Buffalo's Cafe
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of net sales, paid weekly
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 40% of then- current initial franchise fee
- Agreement length
- 15 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 12
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 12
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- −3
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 1
- Most in Georgia
From Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Buffalo's Cafe among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Buffalo's Cafe | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,893,950 | Costs more than 92% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 12 | Fewer than 58% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $2,350,384 | Higher than 91% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.2× | Lower than 66% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Buffalo's Cafe franchise costs
Opening a full-service Buffalo's Cafe costs an estimated $857,300 to $2,930,600. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements; construction costs ($350,000 to $1,500,000) and equipment, decor & furnishings ($150,000 to $600,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Fee | $50,000 | ||
| Leasehold Improvements; Construction Costs | $350,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Equipment, Decor & Furnishings | $150,000 | $600,000 | |
| TV/Audio Video/Security | $135,000 | $175,000 | |
| Signage | $10,000 | $125,000 | |
| Point of Sale Systems (POS) and related technology | $15,000 | $28,000 | |
| Restaurant Small Wares | $15,000 | $35,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $9,600 | $26,000 | |
| Suppliers Security Deposits (Utilities, etc.) | $3,600 | $13,000 | |
| Insurance and Bonds | $3,600 | $15,600 | |
| Rent | $10,000 | $40,000 | |
| Miscellaneous (legal, accounting, licenses, permits) | $7,500 | $95,000 | |
| Liquor Licenses and Fees | $5,000 | $75,000 | |
| Grand Opening & Marketing Materials | $15,000 | ||
| Training | $48,000 | $78,000 | |
| Additional Funds - three months | $30,000 | $60,000 | |
| Total | $857,300 | $2,930,600 | |
Source: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, page 31
Buffalo's Cafe franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, page 23
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of net sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Transfer | $15,000 |
| Renewal Fee | 40% 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: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, page 24
Other fees as filed, from pages 27–28. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Buffalo's Cafe publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average net sales
- $2,350,384
- Median net sales
- $2,440,343
Yearly figures for 2024, covering franchised full-service restaurants open all of 2024 (10 of 12 reporting). The average is about 1.2 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: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, pages 72–73
SBA loans to Buffalo's Cafe franchisees
Lenders approved 29 SBA-backed loans for Buffalo's Cafe franchisees from 1992 to 2025, $16.1M in all: 22 7(a) loans and 7 504 loans. Of the 28 that have ended, 20 were paid in full and 8 were charged off (28.6%). 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, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Buffalo's Cafe | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −7.7% / −20% | 0% / +3% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 7.7% / 20% | 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 Buffalo's Cafe compares
Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, Buffalo's Cafe is the 647th cheapest to open and the 400th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Buffalo's Cafe | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $857K | $408K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $2.93M | $866K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $2.35M | $1.3M | $794K |
| US locations | 12 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 13 (−2) | 0 | 0 | −2 |
| 2023 | 13 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 12 (−1) | 0 | 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.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Source: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, page 77
Where Buffalo's Cafe locations are
At the end of 2024, Buffalo's Cafe had franchised locations in 1 state. The most are in Georgia.
- Georgia12
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 12 |
Source: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, page 78
Who owns Buffalo's Cafe?
Buffalo's Cafe franchises are sold by Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc. It is a subsidiary of FAT Brands, Inc.
Buffalo's Cafe is one of the 9 FAT Brands franchises here. FAT Brands is a public company whose shares were listed on Nasdaq. It and its affiliate Twin Hospitality filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2026 to restructure their debt.
From Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc’s 2025 filing, page 10; FAT Brands.
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 19–22. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | In January 2026 the franchisor, its parent FAT Brands and their affiliates filed for Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas to restructure corporate debt; the franchisor keeps operating while the case runs and may be sold. |
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: Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 19–22, bankruptcy on page 22
Buffalo's Cafe filings
The figures on this page come from Buffalo's Franchise Concepts, Inc’s 2025 filing, issued April 30, 2025, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 30, 2025 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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