How In-N-Out is run
Lynsi Snyder, who owns and runs the company, said in 2018 that selling it wasn't an option and that she wouldn't ever franchise. (FOX 11 Los Angeles, December 2018)
Franchises like In-N-Out
If you want to own a burger business, these franchise brands sell the closest thing to In-N-Out, largest first.
| Brand | Cost to open | Fee | Royalty | Locations | Sales a location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack in the BoxFee $50K · Royalty 5% · Sales $1.91M a location | $1.91M–$4.04M | $50K | 5% | 2,136−44 in 3 yrs | $1.91M |
| Five GuysFee $25K · Royalty 6% | $928K–$1.38M | $25K | 6% | 1,583+106 in 3 yrs | – |
| Culver'sFee $65K · Royalty 4% · Sales $4.14M a location | $3.41M–$10.3M | $65K | 4% | 1,041+149 in 3 yrs | $4.14M |
| Carl's Jr.Fee $25K · Royalty 4% of gross sales · Sales $1.39M a location | $1.82M–$3.3M | $25K | 4% of gross sales | 992−77 in 3 yrs | $1.39M |
| Freddy's Frozen Custard & SteakburgersFee $35K · Royalty 5% · Sales $1.86M a location | $855K–$1.3M | $35K | 5% | 580+124 in 3 yrs | $1.86M |
| Habit Burger GrillFee $35K · Royalty 5.5% · Sales $2.01M a location | $1.39M–$1.59M | $35K | 5.5% | 307+64 in 3 yrs | $2.01M |
| Wayback BurgersFee $35K · Royalty 6%; $400 weekly minimum | $256K–$859K | $35K | 6%; $400 weekly minimum | 184+24 in 3 yrs | – |
| SmashburgerFee $40K · Royalty 5.5% | $1.24M–$2.26M | $40K | 5.5% | 172−45 in 3 yrs | – |
Locations are US locations, franchised and company-owned, at the end of the latest year filed. Sales are yearly, before costs, where the brand publishes them.
Jack in the Box is the largest, with 2,136 US locations, and Wayback Burgers costs least to open, from $256,000. Culver's added the most locations, +149 over 3 years. Of the brands that publish sales, Culver's reports the most per location, $4.14M a year. The typical burger franchise starts at $556K to open; see where the money goes.
Sources
Questions
Which of these burger franchises loses the fewest owners?
Culver's. About under 0.1% of its franchised locations a year closed, were terminated or weren't renewed over the years its latest filing covers, against 6.8% a year at Wayback Burgers. Buy-backs by the franchisor and sales to new owners don't count as exits. Failure rates by brand