Fat Shack franchise
2026 filing · March 17, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Fat Shack at a glance
A late-night quick-service restaurant serving loaded sandwiches, burgers and wings for dine-in, takeout and delivery. At the end of 2025 there were 31 Fat Shack locations in the US, 28 franchised and 3 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Fat Shack Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2015
- 11 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Denver, Colorado
- Typical size
- 1,200–2,500 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $183K–$488K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- $18,000 for each additional restaurant
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross sales, paid weekly; franchisees must also meet a minimum sales quota
- Brand fund
- Yes
- 1½% of gross sales, paid with the royalty
- Renewal fee
- $6,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 7 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 31
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 28
- Company-owned
- 3
- Change in 3 years
- +4
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 14
- Most in Colorado, Texas and Kansas
Support and records
From Fat Shack Inc’s 2026 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 178; 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
Fat Shack among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Fat Shack | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $335,425 | Costs less than 52% 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 | 31 | More than 56% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $670,665 | Lower than 58% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 2.0× | Higher than 64% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Fat Shack franchise costs
Opening one Fat Shack costs an estimated $183,250 to $487,600. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are space acquisition and leasehold improvements ($50,000 to $200,000) and furnishings and equipment ($40,000 to $90,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35,000 | ||
| Lease Costs | $4,000 | $15,000 | |
| Space Acquisition and Leasehold Improvements | $50,000 | $200,000 | |
| Architectural Design and Professional Fees | $2,500 | $20,000 | |
| Furnishings and Equipment | $40,000 | $90,000 | |
| Signs | $5,000 | $12,500 | |
| Computer, Software and Office Equipment | $750 | $2,000 | |
| POS System | $6,000 | $12,000 | |
| Security Surveillance System | $500 | $4,000 | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $6,000 | $15,000 | |
| Smallwares and Print Materials | $9,500 | ||
| Security Deposits, Utility Deposits, Business Licenses | $3,000 | $10,000 | |
| Lease Review Fee | $0 | $750 | |
| On-Site Opening Assistance Fee | $0 | $5,850 | |
| Pre-Opening Hiring and Training of Employees | $3,000 | $10,000 | |
| Opening Marketing | $1,000 | $10,000 | |
| Business Insurance | $2,000 | $6,000 | |
| Additional Funds (3 Months) | $15,000 | $30,000 | |
| Total | $183,250 | $487,600 | |
Source: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, page 17
Fat Shack franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000, $18,000 for each additional restaurant. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales, paid weekly; franchisees must also meet a minimum sales quota. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1½% of gross sales, paid with the royalty. |
| Computer, Software and Office Equipment | $750 |
| Successor Franchise (Renewal) Fee | $6,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, page 14
Other fees as filed, from pages 15–17. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Fat Shack publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $670,665
- Median sales
- $614,309
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchisee-owned restaurants open all of 2025 (24 locations). The average is about 2 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: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, pages 45–46
SBA loans to Fat Shack franchisees
Lenders approved 4 SBA 7(a) loans for Fat Shack franchisees from 2019 to 2026, $1.02M in all. All 2 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off. The other 2 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, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Fat Shack | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +17% / +17% | 0% / 0% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 4.2% | 2% / 13% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 4.2% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical sandwich brand is the median of the 35 brands in sandwich franchises with three years of counts.
How Fat Shack compares
Of the 80 sandwich franchises on this site, Fat Shack is the 11th cheapest to open and the 37th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Fat Shack | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $183K | $321K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $488K | $683K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $32K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $671K | $857K | $794K |
| US locations | 31 | 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
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 18 (+5) | 4 | – | – |
| 2021 | 24 (+6) | 3 | – | – |
| 2022 | 24 (0) | 5 | – | – |
| 2023 | 24 (0) | 6 | +1 | −1 |
| 2024 | 24 (0) | 5 | +1 | −1 |
| 2025 | 28 (+4) | 3 | +4 | 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.
Fat Shack passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it had fewer than 100 US locations three years ago.
More in the guides: sandwich and sub franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 6 years, from the start of 2020 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 13 to 28 (+15, +115%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2023 and 2025 filings.
Source: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, page 48
2020–2021: Fat Shack Inc, 2023 filing, page 48
2022: Fat Shack Inc, 2025 filing, page 49
Where Fat Shack locations are
At the end of 2025, Fat Shack had locations in 14 states. The most are in Colorado, Texas and Kansas.
- Colorado10
- Texas5
- Kansas3
- Florida2
- Washington2
- Georgia1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Texas | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Kansas | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Washington | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Illinois | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nevada | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 0 | 1 |
All 14 states
| Oregon | 1 |
|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 1 |
| South Dakota | 1 |
| Tennessee | 1 |
Source: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, page 49
Who owns Fat Shack?
Fat Shack franchises are sold by Fat Shack Inc. Its filing names no parent company.
From Fat Shack Inc’s 2026 filing, page 9.
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: Fat Shack Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on page 12, bankruptcy on page 12
Fat Shack filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Fat Shack Inc’s 2026 filing, issued March 17, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | March 17, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2025 filing | March 4, 2025 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2022 |
| 2023 filing | March 30, 2023 | NASAA depository | Replaced by the 2026 filing |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other sandwich franchises
All sandwich franchises
Fat Shack is also on these lists: fast food franchises, restaurant franchises, food franchises.