Cleavers franchise

2026 filing · June 26, 2026Shares sales figures

Cleavers at a glance

A restaurant serving Philly cheesesteaks, fries, salads, wings and shakes. At the end of 2025 there were 1 Cleavers locations in the US, all company-owned.

The business

Industry: Sandwich; Also listed in restaurant and food
Franchisor: Cleavers Franchise LLC; The company that sells the franchises
Who runs it: Semi-absentee; Owner doesn't have to take part; a trained manager runs it
Typical size: 2,000–2,500 sq ft

What you pay

Cost to open: $428K–$994K; Fee, build-out and opening working capital
Franchise fee: $40,000; Paid once, when you sign
Royalty: 5%; 5% of weekly gross revenue, plus 1% to the brand fund and a $650 monthly systems fee
Brand fund: 1%; 1% of weekly gross revenue, paid weekly
Agreement length: 10 years
SBA Franchise Directory: Not listed; Lenders check this list before an SBA loan

Where it is

US locations, 2025: 1; Franchised and company-owned
Franchised: 0
Company-owned: 1
Change in 3 years: 0; Franchised locations, 2023–2025

Support and records

Shares sales figures: Yes; For some or all locations
Initial training: 90 hours; 23 hours in class and 67 on the job
Lawsuits disclosed: None
Bankruptcy disclosed: None
Latest filing: Jun 26, 2026; 2026 filing

From Cleavers Franchise LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.

Estimate your costs Model the payback

Where it ranks

Cleavers among all franchises with the same figure.

Figure	Cleavers	Among all franchises
Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate	$710,650	Costs more than 76% of franchises
Franchise feePaid once, when you sign	$40,000	Lower than 46% of franchises
RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor	5%	Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate
US locationsFranchised and company-owned	1	Fewer than 88% of franchises

How much a Cleavers franchise costs

Opening one Cleavers costs an estimated $427,800 to $993,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.

The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($150,000 to $650,000) and furniture, fixtures, equipment, & supplies ($150,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:

What it pays for	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee	$40,000
Leasehold Improvements	$150,000	$650,000
Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment, & Supplies	$150,000
Exterior Signage	$8,000	$10,000
Computer System	$5,000	$10,000
Security System	$1,500	$4,500
Initial Inventory to Begin Opening	$8,000	$15,000
Office Equipment & Supplies	$1,500	$2,500
Lease Deposits	$10,000	$20,000
Utilities Deposits	$1,500	$2,500
Companies and/or landlord Insurance (3 months)	$1,800	$3,000
Training Expenses	$6,000	$10,000
Grand Opening Marketing	$10,000
Professional Fees	$2,500	$5,000
Business Permits and Licenses	$2,000	$6,000
Design & Architect Fees	$10,000	$15,000
Additional Funds – 3 Motnhs	$20,000	$40,000
Total	$427,800	$993,500

Source: Cleavers Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 15

Cleavers franchise fee

The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.

Source: Cleavers Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 8

Royalty and ongoing fees

Royalty	5% of weekly gross revenue, plus 1% to the brand fund and a $650 monthly systems fee.
Brand or marketing fund	1% of weekly gross revenue, paid weekly.
Computer System	$5,000
Required Minimum Expenditure for Local Marketing and Advertising	Minimum of 1% of monthly Gross Revenue.

The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.

Source: Cleavers Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 9

Other fees as filed, from pages 9–15. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.

Sales and earnings

Shares figures Cleavers publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.

Source: Cleavers Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 40

Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location: $800K–$1.4M

Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.

How Cleavers compares

Of the 80 sandwich franchises on this site, Cleavers is the 56th cheapest to open and the 71st largest by number of locations.

Figure	Cleavers	Typical sandwich brand	Typical franchise
Cost to open, low end	$428K	$321K	$222K
Cost to open, high end	$994K	$683K	$477K
Franchise fee	$40K	$32K	$40K
Royalty	5%	6%	6%
Brand fund	1%	2%	2%
US locations	1	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

0 opened

0 closed or left

Franchised locations, last 3 years

2023

0 opened0 closed or left

0 (0)

2024

0 opened0 closed or left

0 (0)

2025

0 opened0 closed or left

0 (0)

Year	Franchised	Company-owned	Opened	Closed
2023	0 (0)	1	0	0
2024	0 (0)	1	0	0
2025	0 (0)	1	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: sandwich and sub franchise costs and franchise failure rates.

Source: Cleavers Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, page 41

Source filing (2026, PDF)

Who owns Cleavers?

Cleavers franchises are sold by Cleavers Franchise LLC.

From Cleavers Franchise 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: Cleavers Franchise LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 8, bankruptcy on page 8

Source filing (2026, PDF)