la Madeleine franchise
A French-inspired bakery cafe serving pastries, coffee and meals. At the end of 2025 there were 86 la Madeleine locations in the US, 59 franchised and 27 company-owned.
- Cost to open
- $1.23M–$2.25M
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Royalty
- Standard 5% of gross sales
- Locations, 2025
- 86
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Company snapshot
- SBA loans
- On the SBA Franchise Directory
From LA MADELEINE FRANCHISING COMPANY, INC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
How much a la Madeleine franchise costs
Opening Traditional bakery-cafe costs an estimated $1,230,360 to $2,254,160. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: LA MADELEINE FRANCHISING COMPANY, INC, 2026 filing, page 23
la Madeleine franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: LA MADELEINE FRANCHISING COMPANY, INC, 2026 filing, page 14
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | The standard royalty is 5% of gross sales; acquired affiliate cafes may have different rates. |
|---|
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: LA MADELEINE FRANCHISING COMPANY, INC, 2026 filing, page 16
Sales and earnings
Shares figures la Madeleine publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: LA MADELEINE FRANCHISING COMPANY, INC, 2026 filing, page 67
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 64 (+4) | 26 |
| 2024 | 62 (−2) | 29 |
| 2025 | 59 (−3) | 27 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. System counts include traditional bakery-cafes and express cafes. The investment shown is for a traditional bakery-cafe.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
Source: LA MADELEINE FRANCHISING COMPANY, INC, 2026 filing, page 71
How la Madeleine compares
Of the 27 bakery franchises on this site, la Madeleine is the 26th cheapest to open and the 16th largest by number of locations.
| Measure | la Madeleine | Typical bakery |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.23M | $428K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6% |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | −1.7% | +8.1% |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 21 of 27 |
Typical is the median across the 27 brands in bakery franchises.
