MTY Food Group’s brands here include mexican food, smoothie and fast food franchises. Each is franchised on its own terms, under its own agreement, so the cost to open, the fees and the record of each brand differ, even where the parent company is the same.
Brands owned by MTY Food Group
| Brand | Cost to open | Franchise fee | Royalty | Locations | 3-year change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Stone CreameryIce cream | $391K–$681K | $27,000 | 6% | 1,054 | +142 (+16%) |
| Papa Murphy'sPizza | $450K–$693K | $25,000 | 5% | 1,014 | −154 (−13%) |
| Wetzel’s PretzelsBakery | $189K–$725K | $40,000 | 5%–7% | 458 | +98 (+27%) |
| sweetFrogFrozen yogurt | $327K–$692K | $30,000 | 5% | 203 | −18 (−8%) |
| Planet SmoothieSmoothie | $228K–$488K | $25,000 | 5% + surcharge | 160 | +8 (+5%) |
| Village InnBreakfast | $1.08M–$2.75M | $35,000 | 4% of gross sales | 109 | −14 (−11%) |
| Famous Dave'sRestaurant | $435K–$2.87M | $35,000 | 5% of revenue | 100 | −24 (−19%) |
| TacoTimeMexican food | $366K–$844K | $30,000 | 6% or $400/wk | 89 | −16 (−15%) |
| BlimpieSandwich | $308K–$601K | $18,000 | 6% or $300/wk | 88 | −32 (−27%) |
| Maui WowiSmoothie | $121K–$609K | $30,000 | 15% on products | 75 | −23 (−23%) |
| Baja FreshMexican food | $429K–$1.03M | $30,000 | 5% plus weekly surcharge | 68 | −16 (−19%) |
| PinkberryFrozen yogurt | $303K–$684K | $35,000 | 6% | 62 | −2 (−3%) |
| Surf City SqueezeSmoothie | $89K–$397K | $30,000 | 6% or $300/wk | 61 | −9 (−13%) |
| NrGize Lifestyle CafeSmoothie | $144K–$464K | $30,000 | 6% + minimum and surcharge | 57 | −3 (−5%) |
| Great SteakSandwich | $258K–$679K | $30,000 | 6% + minimum | 23 | −4 (−15%) |
| Manchu WokFast food | $484K–$821K | $30,000 | 7% traditional | 15 | −3 (−17%) |
| Sauce Pizza / WinePizza | $1.34M–$3.51M | $40,000 | 5% + surcharge | 13 | 0 (0%) |
| Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki GrillFast food | $290K–$632K | $30,000 | 6% or $300/wk | 10 | −3 (−23%) |
| Barrio QueenMexican food | $1.35M–$3.52M | $50,000 | 5% + surcharge | 8 | +1 |
| The CounterBurger | $713K–$1.99M | $35,000 | 6% + surcharge | 8 | −10 (−56%) |
| Kahala Coffee TradersCoffee | $217K–$526K | $30,000 | 6% + minimum | 6 | +3 |
| Thai ExpressFast food | $532K–$833K | $30,000 | 6% | 5 | −4 |
| Built Custom BurgersBurger | $419K–$1.01M | $30,000 | 5% + surcharge | 2 | −1 |
| Champps Kitchen + BarRestaurant | $1.06M–$3.08M | $40,000 | 5% plus weekly surcharge | 2 | −1 |
| La DiperieIce cream | $284K–$553K | $25,000 | 6% + surcharge | 2 | +1 |
| Mucho BurritoMexican food | $470K–$925K | $30,000 | 6% | 0 | 0 |
Change is in US locations, franchised and company-owned, over the three latest years in each brand’s filing. A dash means the brand’s counts aren’t usable.
Size and growth
Together these brands have 3,692 US locations, 95% of them run by franchisees. Across the brands, the total fell by 84 locations (−2%), from 2023 to 2025.
Grew the most
Shrank the most
- The Counter−56%
- Blimpie−27%
- Maui Wowi−23%
- Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill−23%
- Famous Dave's−19%
Brands that started the three years with at least 10 locations.
Fees and royalties across the brands
Franchise fees run from $18K to $50K across these brands, with a typical $30K. Where the royalty is a single share of sales, it runs from 4% to 7%, typically 6%. At one brand the royalty isn't one rate on all sales: it is tiered, ranged, charged on part of revenue or comes with a minimum. Maui Wowi (15% on products) charges another way. On top of that, the marketing fund ranges from 1% to 4% of sales.
A shared parent can mean shared suppliers, systems and support staff, but it rarely means shared terms: compare the agreements brand by brand, and ask whether owning one brand gets you anything when you buy another.
Sales per location and who runs it
Of these brands, 13 publish yearly sales per location, from $332K at Planet Smoothie to $2.92M at Famous Dave's. Of the 26 brands whose agreement says, 5 require the owner to run it day to day; at the rest a trained manager can.
| Brand | Sales per location | Marketing fund | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Stone Creamery | $604K a year | 3% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Papa Murphy's | $688K a year | 2% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Wetzel’s Pretzels | $813K a year | Other terms | A trained manager can run it |
| sweetFrog | $530K a year | 2.5% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Planet Smoothie | $332K a year | 2% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Village Inn | $1.98M a year | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Famous Dave's | $2.92M a year | 1% of sales | Owner must run it |
| TacoTime | $926K a year | Other terms | A trained manager can run it |
| Blimpie | Not shared | 4% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Maui Wowi | Not shared | Other terms | A trained manager can run it |
| Baja Fresh | $823K a year | 3% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Pinkberry | $670K a year | 2% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Surf City Squeeze | Not shared | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| NrGize Lifestyle Cafe | Not shared | Other terms | A trained manager can run it |
| Great Steak | $533K a year | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Manchu Wok | Not shared | 2% of sales | Owner must run it |
| Sauce Pizza / Wine | Other figures | 1% of sales | Owner must run it |
| Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill | $482K a year | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Barrio Queen | Other figures | 1% of sales | Owner must run it |
| The Counter | $2.31M a year | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Kahala Coffee Traders | Not shared | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Thai Express | Not shared | 3% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Built Custom Burgers | Not shared | 1% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Champps Kitchen + Bar | Not shared | 1% of sales | Owner must run it |
| La Diperie | Not shared | 2.5% of sales | A trained manager can run it |
| Mucho Burrito | Not shared | 3% of sales | Owner needn't take part |
Questions
Who owns MTY Food Group?
MTY Food Group is a public company based in Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Its shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as MTY. Source: MTY Food Group