Golden Krust franchise
2026 filing · July 23, 2026Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Golden Krust at a glance
A Caribbean quick-service restaurant and bakery serving Jamaican patties, jerk chicken, oxtail and coco bread. At the end of 2025 there were 101 Golden Krust locations in the US, 99 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Golden Krust Franchising, Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Typical size
- 1,200–3,500 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $406K–$1.26M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5% + minimum
- The greater of 5% of gross sales or $250 a week, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 1.5%
- 1.5% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Renewal fee
- $25,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 101
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 99
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 2 years
- −8
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 8
- Most in New York, Florida and Georgia
From Golden Krust Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Golden Krust among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Golden Krust | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $833,000 | Costs more than 80% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 101 | More than 76% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,469,042 | Higher than 78% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.8× | Higher than 56% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Golden Krust franchise costs
Opening one Golden Krust costs an estimated $405,500 to $1,260,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($150,000 to $550,000) and vendors require additional funds 3 months ($75,000 to $250,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40,000 | ||
| Leasehold Improvements | $150,000 | $550,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $85,000 | $225,000 | |
| POS – Computer Hardware & Implementation | $7,500 | $18,000 | |
| Signage | $10,000 | $30,000 | |
| First Month’s Rent | $3,000 | $15,000 | |
| Security Deposit | $0 | $45,000 | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $15,000 | $30,000 | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $5,000 | $20,000 | |
| Training Expenses | $2,500 | $5,000 | |
| Professional Fees (Legal and Accounting) | $2,500 | $7,500 | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $10,000 | $25,000 | |
| Vendors Require Additional Funds 3 months | $75,000 | $250,000 | |
| Total | $405,500 | $1,260,500 | |
Source: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 13
Golden Krust franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | The greater of 5% of gross sales or $250 a week, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1.5% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
| POS – Computer Hardware & Implementation | $7,500 |
| Transfer fee | $10,000 |
| Renewal Fee | $25,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 11
Other fees as filed, from pages 11–13. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Golden Krust publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average revenue
- $1,469,042
- Median revenue
- $1,212,845
Yearly figures for 2025, covering fully reporting franchised traditional U.S. restaurants open all of fiscal 2025 (102 locations). The average is about 1.8 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: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, pages 29–30
SBA loans to Golden Krust franchisees
Lenders approved 10 SBA 7(a) loans for Golden Krust franchisees from 2018 to 2024, $3.76M in all. All 4 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off. The other 6 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
How Golden Krust compares
Of the 112 bakery franchises on this site, Golden Krust is the 66th cheapest to open and the 24th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Golden Krust | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $406K | $341K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.26M | $720K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $40K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1.5% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $1.47M | $792K | $794K |
| US locations | 101 | 16 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 6.1% | 3.9% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | −7.5% | +4.3% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 74 of 112 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 112 brands in bakery franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 106 (−1) | 2 | +4 | −5 |
| 2024 | 101 (−5) | 2 | +3 | −8 |
| 2025 | 99 (−2) | 2 | – | – |
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.
Source: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, pages 31–32
Where Golden Krust locations are
At the end of 2025, Golden Krust had locations in 8 states. The most are in New York, Florida and Georgia.
- New York41
- Florida26
- Georgia18
- New Jersey7
- North Carolina3
- Connecticut2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 40 | 1 | 41 |
| Florida | 26 | 0 | 26 |
| Georgia | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Maryland | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Texas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 32
Who owns Golden Krust?
Golden Krust franchises are sold by Golden Krust Franchising, Inc.
From Golden Krust Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing.
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 9–10. |
|---|---|
| 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: Golden Krust Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on pages 9–10, bankruptcy on page 10
Golden Krust filings
The figures on this page come from Golden Krust Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing, issued July 23, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | July 23, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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