Kitchen Guard franchise
2026 filing · April 1, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Kitchen Guard at a glance
A commercial kitchen exhaust, air duct and vapor cleaning, grease containment and filter exchange service for restaurants and commercial kitchens. At the end of 2025 there were 38 Kitchen Guard locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc
- The company that sells the franchises
- Typical size
- 1,500–3,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $210K–$286K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $49,000
- Discounts on additional franchises
- Royalty
- 8%–10%
- 10% of gross billings up to $1,499,999 a year, 9% to $2,999,999 and 8% above, paid monthly, with a minimum of $750 to $2,000 a month from a year after training, plus 2% to the promotional fund and a technology fee (currently $499 a month)
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross billings, paid with the royalty
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 38
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 38
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- +38
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 23
- Most in California, Texas and Florida
From Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Kitchen Guard among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Kitchen Guard | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $248,185 | Costs less than 63% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $49,000 | Higher than 62% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 10% | Higher than 95% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 38 | More than 60% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $209,719 | Lower than 94% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.8× | Lower than 86% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Kitchen Guard franchise costs
Opening one Kitchen Guard costs an estimated $210,486 to $285,883. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are additional funds – three months ($81,000 to $92,000) and equipment, inventory, and supplies, marketing supplies ($55,125 to $85,085). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial fee | $49,000 | ||
| Training | $1,386 | $4,598 | |
| Equipment, Inventory, and Supplies, marketing supplies | $55,125 | $85,085 | |
| Rent - 3 months | $4,125 | $19,800 | |
| Tenant improvements | $1,000 | $7,000 | |
| Vehicle Expenses | $3,500 | $7,000 | |
| Computer equipment, phones, and Technology Fees | $3,300 | $5,500 | |
| Miscellaneous | $6,050 | $9,900 | |
| Local Marketing | $6,000 | ||
| Additional Funds – Three Months | $81,000 | $92,000 | |
| Total | $210,486 | $285,883 | |
Source: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 22
Kitchen Guard franchise fee
The franchise fee is $49,000, discounts on additional franchises. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 14
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 10% of gross billings up to $1,499,999 a year, 9% to $2,999,999 and 8% above, paid monthly, with a minimum of $750 to $2,000 a month from a year after training, plus 2% to the promotional fund and a technology fee (currently $499 a month). |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross billings, paid with the royalty. |
| Additional Training or extraordinary consultation | $750 per day, plus travel and lodging expenses. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 16
Other fees as filed, from page 18. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Kitchen Guard publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $209,719
- Median sales
- $166,591
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchised territories open all of 2025. The average is about 0.8 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: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, pages 48–49
SBA loans to Kitchen Guard franchisees
Lenders approved 18 SBA 7(a) loans for Kitchen Guard franchisees from 2025 to 2026, $5.02M in all. None has been paid off or charged off 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 Kitchen Guard compares
Of the 45 commercial cleaning franchises on this site, Kitchen Guard is the 44th cheapest to open and the 24th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Kitchen Guard | Typical commercial cleaning brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $210K | $66K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $286K | $134K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $49K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 10% | 7% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 1% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $210K | $600K | $794K |
| US locations | 38 | 47 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 0% | 4.6% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 31 of 45 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 45 brands in commercial cleaning franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 6 (+6) | 1 | +6 | 0 |
| 2025 | 38 (+32) | 0 | +32 | 0 |
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.
Kitchen Guard passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it had fewer than 100 US locations three years ago.
More in the guides: cleaning franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 52
Where Kitchen Guard locations are
At the end of 2025, Kitchen Guard had franchised locations in 23 states. The most are in California, Texas and Florida.
- California5
- Texas5
- Florida3
- Alabama2
- Maryland2
- North Carolina2
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| California | 5 |
| Texas | 5 |
| Florida | 3 |
| Alabama | 2 |
| Maryland | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2 |
| Ohio | 2 |
| Tennessee | 2 |
| Arizona | 1 |
| Arkansas | 1 |
All 23 states
| Colorado | 1 |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | 1 |
| Delaware | 1 |
| Georgia | 1 |
| Illinois | 1 |
| Kentucky | 1 |
| Michigan | 1 |
| Missouri | 1 |
| Nebraska | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
| Utah | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 |
Source: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, page 52
Who owns Kitchen Guard?
Kitchen Guard franchises are sold by Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc.
From Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | No bankruptcy of the franchisor. One of its senior executives filed a personal Chapter 7 case in January 2020, while trading as a recycling business, and received a discharge that April. |
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: Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc, 2026 filing, litigation on page 14, bankruptcy on page 14
Kitchen Guard filings
The figures on this page come from Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc’s 2026 filing, issued April 1, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 1, 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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