LA Crawfish franchise
2024 filing · March 31, 2024Fewer locationsShares sales figures
LA Crawfish at a glance
A restaurant serving Cajun crawfish and seafood, Vietnamese pho and related dishes. At the end of 2023 there were 18 LA Crawfish locations in the US, 17 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- LAC Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2013
- 11 years of selling franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $346K–$504K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of net sales, paid weekly, plus 1% to the system ad fund
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of net sales to the fund, plus 2% spent on local advertising
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- An amount equal to 50% of our then-current initial franchise fee.
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 18
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 17
- Company-owned
- 1
- Change in 2 years
- −2
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 1
- Most in Texas
From LAC Franchising, LLC’s 2024 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 198; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
LA Crawfish among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | LA Crawfish | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $424,750 | Costs more than 57% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $35,000 | Lower than 61% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 18 | Fewer than 52% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $798,674 | Higher than 50% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.9× | Higher than 61% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a LA Crawfish franchise costs
Opening one LA Crawfish costs an estimated $346,000 to $503,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($140,000 to $200,000) and fixtures, furnishings & equipment ($70,000 to $100,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35,000 | ||
| Business Licenses & Permits | $2,000 | $3,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $140,000 | $200,000 | |
| Fixtures, Furnishings & Equipment | $70,000 | $100,000 | |
| Computer and Point of Sale System | $8,000 | $12,000 | |
| Architect/Engineering Fees | $14,000 | $20,000 | |
| Rent, Security Deposits and Utility Deposits | $5,000 | $15,000 | |
| Other Professional Fees | $2,500 | $4,500 | |
| Insurance Deposit | $500 | $1,000 | |
| Initial Inventory of Food, Beverage and Paper Supplies | $25,000 | $35,000 | |
| Training Expenses | $4,000 | $8,000 | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $5,000 | $10,000 | |
| Additional Funds (for initial period of operations) | $35,000 | $60,000 | |
| Total | $346,000 | $503,500 | |
Source: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 19
LA Crawfish franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of net sales, paid weekly, plus 1% to the system ad fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of net sales to the fund, plus 2% spent on local advertising. |
| Fees related to Computer System and Software | $400 per month |
| Renewal Fee | An amount equal to 50% of our then-current initial franchise fee. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from page 14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures LA Crawfish publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $798,674
- Median sales
- $797,500
Yearly figures for 2023, covering franchised stores in operation at least one year. The average is about 1.9 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: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 52
SBA loans to LA Crawfish franchisees
Lenders approved 3 SBA 7(a) loans for LA Crawfish franchisees from 2017 to 2026, $1.35M in all. Of the 2 that have ended, 1 was paid in full and 1 was charged off. The other one hasn’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 LA Crawfish compares
Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, LA Crawfish is the 328th cheapest to open and the 349th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | LA Crawfish | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $346K | $408K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $504K | $866K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $799K | $1.3M | $794K |
| US locations | 18 | 14 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 5.3% | 4.9% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | −10.5% | +1.8% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 474 of 813 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 813 brands in restaurant franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 (+3) | 1 | +3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 19 (−3) | 1 | – | – |
| 2023 | 17 (−2) | 1 | 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: franchise failure rates.
Source: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 53
Where LA Crawfish locations are
At the end of 2023, LA Crawfish had locations in 1 state. The most are in Texas.
- Texas18
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 17 | 1 | 18 |
Source: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 55
Who owns LA Crawfish?
LA Crawfish franchises are sold by LAC Franchising, LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From LAC Franchising, LLC’s 2024 filing, page 8.
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 11–12. |
|---|---|
| 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: LAC Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on pages 11–12, bankruptcy on page 12
LA Crawfish filings
The figures on this page come from LAC Franchising, LLC’s 2024 filing, issued March 31, 2024, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | March 31, 2024 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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