Cilantro Taco Grill franchise
2024 filing · April 29, 2024Shares sales figures
Cilantro Taco Grill at a glance
A fast-casual Mexican restaurant serving tacos, burritos and bowls, with beer and wine at some locations. At the end of 2023 there were 15 Cilantro Taco Grill locations in the US, all company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- CTG Franchise LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2023
- Franchisor based in
- Northlake, Illinois
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $276K–$779K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of weekly gross revenue, paid weekly, plus 2% to the creative marketing fund and 1% in local marketing
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 15
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 0
- Company-owned
- 15
- Change in 3 years
- 0
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
From CTG Franchise LLC’s 2024 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Cilantro Taco Grill among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Cilantro Taco Grill | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $527,500 | Costs more than 66% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $35,000 | Lower than 61% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 15 | Fewer than 55% of franchises |
How much a Cilantro Taco Grill franchise costs
Opening one Cilantro Taco Grill costs an estimated $276,000 to $779,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: CTG Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, page 20
Cilantro Taco Grill franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: CTG Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of weekly gross revenue, paid weekly, plus 2% to the creative marketing fund and 1% in local marketing. |
|---|---|
| Transfer Fee – Franchise Agreement | $15,000 |
| Required Minimum Expenditure for Local Marketing and Advertising | 1% of Gross Revenue |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: CTG Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 12–13. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Cilantro Taco Grill publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: CTG Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, page 49
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $720K–$1.3M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Cilantro Taco Grill compares
Of the 55 Mexican food franchises on this site, Cilantro Taco Grill is the 8th cheapest to open and the 26th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Cilantro Taco Grill | Typical Mexican food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $276K | $457K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $779K | $946K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| US locations | 15 | 15 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 38 of 55 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 55 brands in mexican food franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 0 (0) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 (0) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 15 | 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.
Source: CTG Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, page 50
Who owns Cilantro Taco Grill?
Cilantro Taco Grill franchises are sold by CTG Franchise LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From CTG Franchise LLC’s 2024 filing, page 8.
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: CTG Franchise LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Cilantro Taco Grill filings
The figures on this page come from CTG Franchise LLC’s 2024 filing, issued April 29, 2024, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | April 29, 2024 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other Mexican food franchises
All Mexican food franchises
Cilantro Taco Grill is also on these lists: restaurant franchises, food franchises.