Hot Dog on a Stick franchise
2025 filing · April 30, 2025Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Hot Dog on a Stick at a glance
A mall food court stand serving corn dogs, cheese on a stick, fries and fresh-squeezed lemonade. At the end of 2024 there were 46 Hot Dog on a Stick locations in the US, 16 franchised and 30 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- HDOS Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Beverly Hills, California
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $541K–$679K
- Traditional restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of total net sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of net sales
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 40% of then-current initial fee
- Agreement length
- 15 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 46
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 16
- Company-owned
- 30
- Change in 3 years
- −1
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 5
- Most in California, Utah and Hawaii
From HDOS Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Hot Dog on a Stick among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Hot Dog on a Stick | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $609,500 | Costs more than 71% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 46 | More than 63% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $533,864 | Lower than 69% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.9× | Lower than 84% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Hot Dog on a Stick franchise costs
Opening traditional restaurant costs an estimated $540,500 to $678,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 35
Hot Dog on a Stick franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 22
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of total net sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of net sales. |
| Brand Technology System Support Services | Currently, $840-$1,500 per year for mandatory |
| Transfer | $15,000 |
| Renewal Fee | 40% of then-current initial fee |
| Local Advertising | Currently 2% of total net sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 24
Other fees as filed, from pages 24–28. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Hot Dog on a Stick publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average net sales
- $533,864
- Median net sales
- $410,838
Yearly figures for 2024, covering franchised U.S. restaurants open all of 2024 (13 locations). The average is about 0.9 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: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, pages 86–90
SBA loans to Hot Dog on a Stick franchisees
Lenders approved 4 SBA-backed loans for Hot Dog on a Stick franchisees from 2016 to 2021, $515K in all: 2 7(a) loans and 2 504 loans. All 2 that have ended were 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, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Hot Dog on a Stick | Typical fast food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −11% / −5.9% | 0% / +5.6% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 11% / 24% | 3.7% / 17% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical fast food brand is the median of the 124 brands in fast food franchises with three years of counts.
How Hot Dog on a Stick compares
Of the 309 fast food franchises on this site, Hot Dog on a Stick is the 229th cheapest to open and the 114th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Hot Dog on a Stick | Typical fast food brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $541K | $353K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $679K | $786K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $534K | $1.14M | $794K |
| US locations | 46 | 23 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 189 of 309 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 309 brands in fast food franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18 (+1) | 32 | +2 | −1 |
| 2023 | 18 (0) | 31 | +1 | −1 |
| 2024 | 16 (−2) | 30 | 0 | −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, hot dog franchises and franchise failure rates.
Source: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 93
Where Hot Dog on a Stick locations are
At the end of 2024, Hot Dog on a Stick had locations in 5 states. The most are in California, Utah and Hawaii.
- California29
- Utah9
- Hawaii3
- Nevada3
- New Mexico2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7 | 22 | 29 |
| Utah | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Nevada | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| New Mexico | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Source: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 94
Who owns Hot Dog on a Stick?
Hot Dog on a Stick franchises are sold by HDOS Franchising, LLC. It is a subsidiary of HDOS Franchise Brands, LLC.
Hot Dog on a Stick is one of the 9 FAT Brands franchises here. FAT Brands is a public company whose shares were listed on Nasdaq. It and its affiliate Twin Hospitality filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2026 to restructure their debt.
From HDOS Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, page 10; FAT Brands.
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 19–21. |
|---|---|
| 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: HDOS Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 19–21, bankruptcy on page 21
Hot Dog on a Stick filings
The figures on this page come from HDOS Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 30, 2025, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 30, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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