Ford's Garage franchise
2026 filing · April 24, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Ford's Garage at a glance
A full-service restaurant styled after a 1920s service station, serving prime burgers, comfort food and craft beer. At the end of 2025 there were 34 Ford's Garage locations in the US, 33 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Tampa, Florida
- Typical size
- 6,000–9,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $3.6M–$6.4M
- A newly built Ford's Garage restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 5.5% of gross sales (excluding gift card sales), paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales, paid with the royalty; it can rise to 2.5%
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 50% of our then- current franchise fee
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 34
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 33
- Company-owned
- 1
- Change in 3 years
- +13
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 8
- Most in Florida, Michigan and Indiana
Support and records
From Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 283; 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
Ford's Garage among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Ford's Garage | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $5,000,900 | Costs more than 97% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5.5% | Lower than 66% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 34 | More than 58% of franchises |
How much a Ford's Garage franchise costs
Opening a newly built Ford's Garage restaurant costs an estimated $3,598,800 to $6,403,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($2,000,000 to $3,200,000) and furniture and equipment ($1,000,000 to $1,250,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50,000 | ||
| Grand Opening Advertising | $5,000 | ||
| New Restaurant Opening Team Expenses | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
| Franchisee Manager Training Expenses | $50,000 | $150,000 | |
| Lease Payments 6 Months | $60,000 | $300,000 | |
| Security Deposit | $12,000 | $300,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $2,000,000 | $3,200,000 | |
| Office Expenses | $1,000 | $2,000 | |
| Signage | $50,000 | $100,000 | |
| Furniture and Equipment | $1,000,000 | $1,250,000 | |
| Utilities | $500 | $15,000 | |
| Uniforms | $10,000 | $20,000 | |
| Inventory | $60,000 | $100,000 | |
| Architecture Fees | $75,000 | $150,000 | |
| Insurance | $3,000 | $20,000 | |
| Licenses and Permits | $2,000 | $150,000 | |
| Legal and Accounting | $5,000 | $25,000 | |
| Dues and Subscriptions | $300 | $1,000 | |
| Additional Funds | $100,000 | $400,000 | |
| Total | $3,598,800 | $6,403,000 | |
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 24
Ford's Garage franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales (excluding gift card sales), paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales, paid with the royalty; it can rise to 2.5%. |
| Transfer Fee – Franchise Agreement or Franchised Unit | $15,000 |
| Renewal Fee | 50% of our then- current franchise fee |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, pages 12 and 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 16–18. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Ford's Garage publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 80
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $2.4M–$3.4M
Estimated from the royalties the franchisor collected in 2025 at its 5.5% royalty rate, over about 32 franchised locations.
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 283
SBA loans to Ford's Garage franchisees
Lenders approved 2 SBA 7(a) loans for Ford's Garage franchisees from 2021 to 2023, $3.35M in all. All 2 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off.
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 | Ford's Garage | Typical burger brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +10% / +65% | 0% / −2.4% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 5% | 3.7% / 6.3% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical burger brand is the median of the 29 brands in burger franchises with three years of counts.
How Ford's Garage compares
Of the 63 burger franchises on this site, Ford's Garage is the most expensive to open and the 28th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Ford's Garage | Typical burger brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $3.6M | $556K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $6.4M | $1.52M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5.5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 34 | 25 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 44 of 63 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 63 brands in burger franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 (+1) | 0 | – | – |
| 2022 | 20 (+4) | 0 | – | – |
| 2023 | 24 (+4) | 1 | +5 | −1 |
| 2024 | 30 (+6) | 1 | +6 | 0 |
| 2025 | 33 (+3) | 1 | +3 | 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.
Ford's Garage 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: burger franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 15 to 33 (+18, +120%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 and 2025 filings.
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 91
2021: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2024 filing, page 87
2022: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2025 filing, page 90
Where Ford's Garage locations are
At the end of 2025, Ford's Garage had locations in 8 states. The most are in Florida, Michigan and Indiana.
- Florida21
- Michigan3
- Indiana2
- Kentucky2
- Ohio2
- Texas2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Michigan | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Indiana | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ohio | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Texas | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| New York | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, page 92
Who owns Ford's Garage?
Ford's Garage franchises are sold by Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC.
From Vintage Hospitality Group, 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: Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Ford's Garage filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 24, 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 | April 24, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2025 filing | April 28, 2025 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2022 |
| 2024 filing | April 29, 2024 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other burger franchises
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Ford's Garage is also on these lists: restaurant franchises, food franchises.