Live Crawfish & Seafood franchise
2026 filing · September 2, 2026Shares sales figures
Live Crawfish & Seafood at a glance
A seafood boil restaurant using the brand's seasonings and sauces. At the end of 2025 there were 3 Live Crawfish & Seafood locations in the US, 2 franchised and 1 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Baltimore, Maryland
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $133K–$588K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $45,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross sales, taken from card payments, with at least $15,000 a year to keep the territory
- Brand fund
- 0.5%
- 0.5% of gross sales, paid with the royalty
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 3
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 2
- Company-owned
- 1
- States
- 1
- Most in Virginia
From Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Live Crawfish & Seafood among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Live Crawfish & Seafood | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $360,250 | Costs more than 50% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $45,000 | Higher than 55% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 3 | Fewer than 78% of franchises |
How much a Live Crawfish & Seafood franchise costs
Opening one Live Crawfish & Seafood costs an estimated $132,500 to $588,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($20,000 to $200,000) and kitchen equipment ($10,000 to $150,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45,000 | ||
| Leasehold Improvements | $20,000 | $200,000 | |
| Lease Payments and other rental expenses | $2,000 | $25,000 | |
| Kitchen Equipment | $10,000 | $150,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Furnishings | $2,000 | $40,000 | |
| Signage | $8,000 | $20,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $4,000 | $10,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $5,000 | $15,000 | |
| POS and Computer Equipment | $500 | $2,000 | |
| Travel and lodging for training | $0 | $5,000 | |
| Business licenses, permits, etc. (for first year) | $2,000 | $10,000 | |
| Insurance deposits and premiums | $3,000 | $8,000 | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $5,000 | ||
| Utilities – deposits and connection fees | $1,000 | $3,000 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $25,000 | $50,000 | |
| Total | $132,500 | $588,000 | |
Source: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Live Crawfish & Seafood franchise fee
The franchise fee is $45,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, page 8
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales, taken from card payments, with at least $15,000 a year to keep the territory. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 0.5% of gross sales, paid with the royalty. |
| Replacement Manager Training Fee | $500 per Day plus our out-of-pocket expenses |
| Local Advertising Requirement | Monthly Minimum of $150 or 0.5% of Gross Sales, whichever is more |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, page 9
Other fees as filed, from pages 10–11. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Live Crawfish & Seafood publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, page 33
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $670K–$1.2M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Live Crawfish & Seafood compares
Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, Live Crawfish & Seafood is the 32nd cheapest to open and the 627th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Live Crawfish & Seafood | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $133K | $408K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $588K | $866K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $45K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 0.5% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 3 | 14 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | 0% | +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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 (0) | 1 |
| 2024 | 2 (0) | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 (0) | 1 |
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: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, page 35
Where Live Crawfish & Seafood locations are
At the end of 2025, Live Crawfish & Seafood had locations in 1 state. The most are in Virginia.
- Virginia3
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Source: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, page 35
Who owns Live Crawfish & Seafood?
Live Crawfish & Seafood franchises are sold by Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC.
From Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on page 8. |
|---|---|
| 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: Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 8, bankruptcy on page 8
Live Crawfish & Seafood filings
The figures on this page come from Live Crawfish & Seafood LLC’s 2026 filing, issued September 2, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | September 2, 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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