Costa Vida franchise
2025 filing · April 1, 2025Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Costa Vida at a glance
A fast-casual restaurant serving burritos, salads, enchiladas, tacos and other coastal-Mexican dishes made fresh daily. At the end of 2024 there were 93 Costa Vida locations in the US, 47 franchised and 46 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Costa Vida Management, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2004
- 21 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Pleasant Grove, Utah
- Typical size
- 2,600–3,600 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $675K–$1.34M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $30,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of net sales, paid monthly
- Brand fund
- Yes
- Up to 2% of net sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 93
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 47
- Company-owned
- 46
- Change in 3 years
- −10
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 15
- Most in Utah, Idaho and Texas
From Costa Vida Management, LLC’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Costa Vida among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Costa Vida | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,007,250 | Costs more than 83% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $30,000 | Lower than 72% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 93 | More than 75% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $2,158,661 | Higher than 89% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 2.1× | Higher than 67% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Costa Vida franchise costs
Opening one Costa Vida costs an estimated $674,500 to $1,340,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, page 23
Costa Vida franchise fee
The franchise fee is $30,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, page 13
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of net sales, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Up to 2% of net sales. |
| Digital menu system | $75 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, page 16
Other fees as filed, from page 18. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Costa Vida 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
- $2,158,661
- Median net sales
- $2,016,503
Yearly figures for 2024, covering U.S. restaurants open all of 2024 (83 locations). The average is about 2.1 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: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, pages 60–61
SBA loans to Costa Vida franchisees
Lenders approved 32 SBA-backed loans for Costa Vida franchisees from 2004 to 2025, $18.5M in all: 29 7(a) loans and 3 504 loans. Of the 23 that have ended, 21 were paid in full and 2 were charged off (8.7%). The other 9 haven’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 | Costa Vida | Typical Mexican food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −4.1% / −18% | −2% / +2.3% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 2% / 7% | 3.3% / 11% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 4.1% / 16% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical Mexican food brand is the median of the 16 brands in mexican food franchises with three years of counts.
How Costa Vida compares
Of the 55 Mexican food franchises on this site, Costa Vida is the 41st cheapest to open and the 9th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Costa Vida | Typical Mexican food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $675K | $457K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.34M | $946K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $30K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $2.16M | $1.18M | $794K |
| US locations | 93 | 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 | 57 (−1) | 34 | – | – |
| 2022 | 56 (−1) | 37 | +1 | −2 |
| 2023 | 49 (−7) | 42 | +1 | −8 |
| 2024 | 47 (−2) | 46 | +1 | −3 |
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: fast food franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 4 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2024, franchised locations went from 58 to 47 (−11, −19%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, page 63
2021: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2024 filing, page 63
Where Costa Vida locations are
At the end of 2024, Costa Vida had locations in 15 states. The most are in Utah, Idaho and Texas.
- Utah49
- Idaho11
- Texas6
- Colorado5
- Alberta4
- Washington4
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 16 | 33 | 49 |
| Idaho | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Texas | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Colorado | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Alberta | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Washington | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Arizona | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Nevada | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| California | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Kansas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
All 15 states
| Minnesota | 1 |
|---|---|
| Missouri | 1 |
| New Mexico | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1 |
| Wyoming | 1 |
Source: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, page 64
Who owns Costa Vida?
Costa Vida franchises are sold by Costa Vida Management, LLC.
From Costa Vida Management, LLC’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: Costa Vida Management, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on page 13, bankruptcy on page 13
Costa Vida filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Costa Vida Management, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 1, 2025; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 1, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other Mexican food franchises
All Mexican food franchises
Costa Vida is also on these lists: fast food franchises, restaurant franchises, food franchises.