Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ franchise
2025 filing · March 26, 2025Growing
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ at a glance
A fast-casual restaurant serving gourmet hot dogs, barbecue and sides, with food truck options. At the end of 2024 there were 22 Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2018
- 7 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Casper, Wyoming
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $261K–$1.07M
- Restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $45,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 8%
- 8% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 22
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 22
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- +8
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 10
- Most in North Carolina, Florida and Texas
Support and records
- Initial training
- 2 programs
- Restaurant: 15 hours in class and 37 on the job; Food truck: 12 hours in class and 16 on the job
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Bankruptcy disclosed
- None
- Latest filing
- Mar 26, 2025
- 2025 filing
From CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $664,550 | Costs more than 74% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $45,000 | Higher than 55% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 8% | Higher than 85% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 22 | More than 51% of franchises |
How much a Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ franchise costs
Opening restaurant costs an estimated $260,600 to $1,068,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements (5) dependent on site conditions ($100,000 to $700,000) and equipment, furniture and fixtures ($70,000 to $160,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45,000 | ||
| Rent – 1 Month | $5,000 | $15,000 | |
| Lease & Utility Security Deposit | $4,000 | $15,000 | |
| Design & Architect Fees | $1,000 | $35,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements (5) dependent on site conditions | $100,000 | $700,000 | |
| Signage | $3,000 | $30,000 | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures | $70,000 | $160,000 | |
| Point-of-Sale & Computer Equipment | $1,500 | $5,500 | |
| Business Licenses & Permits (Not Including Beer/Wine License) | $500 | $4,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $1,000 | $3,500 | |
| Insurance – 1 Month | $1,000 | $3,000 | |
| Initial Inventory-Food & Other Items | $8,000 | $15,000 | |
| Initial Inventory-Alcohol | $100 | $1,000 | |
| Training Expenses | $500 | $1,500 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $5,000 | ||
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $15,000 | $30,000 | |
| Total | $260,600 | $1,068,500 | |
Source: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, page 20
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ franchise fee
The franchise fee is $45,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 8% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross sales. |
| Point-of-Sale Software Fee-Clover POS System | $135 to $250 for Restaurant $50 to $150 for Food Truck |
| Transfer Fee – Franchise Agreement | $5,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 14–16. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ 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: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, page 56
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $590K–$1.1M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ franchisees
Lenders approved 32 SBA 7(a) loans for Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ franchisees from 2018 to 2025, $17.5M in all. Of the 7 that have ended, 3 were paid in full and 4 were charged off. The other 25 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 | Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ | Typical fast food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −8.3% / +57% | 0% / +5.6% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 38% / 143% | 3.7% / 17% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical fast food brand is the median of the 124 brands in fast food franchises with three years of counts.
How Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ compares
Of the 309 fast food franchises on this site, Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ is the 80th cheapest to open and the 150th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ | Typical fast food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $261K | $353K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.07M | $786K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $45K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 22 | 23 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 189 of 309 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 309 brands in fast food franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 17 (+3) | 0 | +5 | −2 |
| 2023 | 24 (+7) | 0 | +16 | −9 |
| 2024 | 22 (−2) | 0 | +7 | −9 |
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, hot dog franchises and franchise failure rates.
Source: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, page 57
Where Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ locations are
At the end of 2024, Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ had franchised locations in 10 states. The most are in North Carolina, Florida and Texas.
- North Carolina6
- Florida4
- Texas3
- Georgia2
- Arizona1
- Colorado1
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| North Carolina | 6 |
| Florida | 4 |
| Texas | 3 |
| Georgia | 2 |
| Arizona | 1 |
| Colorado | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 |
Source: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, page 59
Who owns Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ?
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ franchises are sold by CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC. It is a subsidiary of Rincione Investments LLC.
From CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC’s 2025 filing, page 7.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 10–11. |
|---|---|
| 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: CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 10–11, bankruptcy on page 11
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ filings
The figures on this page come from CRAVE FRANCHISING, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued March 26, 2025, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | March 26, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other fast food franchises
All fast food franchises
Crave Hot Dogs & BBQ is also on these lists: restaurant franchises, food franchises.