Great Harvest franchise
A Great Harvest franchisee operates a bakery cafe serving fresh bread, baked goods, soups, salads and sandwiches. At the end of 2025 there were 155 Great Harvest locations in the US, all franchised.
- Cost to open
- $592K–$871K
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Royalty
- 5%
- Locations, 2025
- 155−14 in 3 yrs
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Company snapshot
- SBA loans
- On the SBA Franchise Directory
From Great Harvest Franchising, LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
How much a Great Harvest franchise costs
Opening one bakery cafe costs an estimated $591,742 to $871,077. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Great Harvest Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 17
Great Harvest franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Great Harvest Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales. |
|---|
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Great Harvest Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 11
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Great Harvest publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations: Historical results include older limited-menu formats that are no longer offered to new franchisees.. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Great Harvest Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 40
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 160 (−9) | 1 | 15 |
| 2024 | 157 (−3) | 0 | 7 |
| 2025 | 155 (−2) | 0 | 6 |
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.
Source: Great Harvest Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 43
How Great Harvest compares
Of the 20 bakery franchises on this site, Great Harvest is the 17th cheapest to open and the 10th largest by number of locations.
| Measure | Great Harvest | Typical bakery |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $592K | $411K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6% |
| Closed or left per year | 5.7% | 3.7% |
| Change in franchised locations, 3 yrs | −8.3% | +6.7% |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 17 of 20 |
Typical is the median across the 20 brands in bakery franchises.
