Café 86 franchise
2025 filing · August 13, 2025Growing
Café 86 at a glance
A casual café serving specialty coffee, drinks, pastries and sandwiches. At the end of 2024 there were 17 Café 86 locations in the US, 10 franchised and 7 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Café 86 Franchise Corporation
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $230K–$468K
- A single café
- Franchise fee
- $45,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of weekly gross sales, plus 1% to the marketing fund
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 17
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 10
- Company-owned
- 7
- Change in 3 years
- +10
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 3
- Most in California, Arizona and Nevada
Support and records
From Café 86 Franchise Corporation’s 2025 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 118; 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
Café 86 among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Café 86 | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $348,584 | Costs less than 51% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $45,000 | Higher than 55% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 17 | Fewer than 53% of franchises |
How much a Café 86 franchise costs
Opening a single café costs an estimated $229,500 to $467,667. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, page 1
Café 86 franchise fee
The franchise fee is $45,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, page 9
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of weekly gross sales, plus 1% to the marketing fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales. |
| Software subscription | Currently, $850- $950 per month |
| Replacement/Additional Training fee | $350 per day |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, page 10
Other fees as filed, from page 10. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Café 86 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: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, page 36
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $500K–$870K
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Café 86 franchisees
Lenders approved one SBA 7(a) loan for a Café 86 franchisee in 2026, for $300K. It hasn’t 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 Café 86 compares
Of the 117 coffee franchises on this site, Café 86 is the 26th cheapest to open and the 44th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Café 86 | Typical coffee brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $230K | $350K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $468K | $741K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $45K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 1.5% | 2% |
| US locations | 17 | 8 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 0% | 2.6% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 69 of 117 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 117 brands in coffee franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0 (0) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 (+3) | 9 | +3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 10 (+7) | 7 | +7 | 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: coffee franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, pages 36–37
Where Café 86 locations are
At the end of 2024, Café 86 had locations in 3 states. The most are in California, Arizona and Nevada.
- California15
- Arizona1
- Nevada1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, page 37
Who owns Café 86?
Café 86 franchises are sold by Café 86 Franchise Corporation.
From Café 86 Franchise Corporation’s 2025 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: Café 86 Franchise Corporation, 2025 filing, litigation on page 9, bankruptcy on page 9
Café 86 filings
The figures on this page come from Café 86 Franchise Corporation’s 2025 filing, issued August 13, 2025, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | August 13, 2025 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other coffee franchises
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