Buona franchise
2026 filing · April 17, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Buona at a glance
A Chicago restaurant serving Italian beef and other sandwiches, pasta, burgers, hot dogs, salads and desserts. At the end of 2025 there were 34 Buona locations in the US, 1 franchised and 33 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2021
- 5 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Burr Ridge, Illinois
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $3.9M–$5.84M
- A single-brand free-standing restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus currently 1.5% to the brand marketing fund (up to 2.5%)
- Brand fund
- 1.5%
- 1.5% of gross sales, paid weekly; it can rise to 2.5%
- Renewal fee
- $7,500
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 34
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 1
- Company-owned
- 33
- Change in 2 years
- +1
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 4
- Most in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin
From Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 301; 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
Buona among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Buona | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $4,872,789 | 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 | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 34 | More than 58% of franchises |
How much a Buona franchise costs
Opening a single-brand free-standing restaurant costs an estimated $3,904,203 to $5,841,375. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are construction of building ($1,778,965 to $2,406,835) and land acquisition ($500,000 to $1,200,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40,000 | ||
| Land Acquisition | $500,000 | $1,200,000 | |
| Site Work | $474,861 | $712,292 | |
| Construction of Building | $1,778,965 | $2,406,835 | |
| Travel and Living Costs While Training | $62,268 | $87,068 | |
| Initial Inventory and supplies | $30,000 | $45,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (excluding Sign Package and POS) | $678,290 | $804,158 | |
| Sign Package | $104,532 | $135,277 | |
| POS System | $53,444 | $69,376 | |
| Miscellaneous expenses | $15,000 | $50,000 | |
| Grand Opening Advertising and Marketing | $25,000 | $40,000 | |
| On-Site Training Fee | $41,843 | $61,369 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $100,000 | $200,000 | |
| Total | $3,904,203 | $5,841,375 | |
Source: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 26
Buona franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 14
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus currently 1.5% to the brand marketing fund (up to 2.5%). |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1.5% of gross sales, paid weekly; it can rise to 2.5%. |
| Renewal Fee | $7,500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 17
Other fees as filed, from page 18. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Buona publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 68
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $2M–$3.5M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Buona compares
Of the 80 sandwich franchises on this site, Buona is the most expensive to open and the 35th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Buona | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $3.9M | $321K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $5.84M | $683K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $32K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1.5% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 34 | 31 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 50 of 80 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 80 brands in sandwich franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0 (0) | 25 | – | – |
| 2022 | 0 (0) | 26 | – | – |
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 28 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 (0) | 31 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 (+1) | 33 | – | – |
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: sandwich and sub franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 0 to 1 (+1). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 82
2021–2022: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2024 filing, page 75
Where Buona locations are
At the end of 2025, Buona had locations in 4 states. The most are in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
- Illinois28
- Indiana3
- Wisconsin2
- Tennessee1
Source: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 82
Who owns Buona?
Buona franchises are sold by Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC.
From Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC’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: Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 14, bankruptcy on page 14
Buona filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 17, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 17, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other sandwich franchises
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