Pollo Campero franchise
2025 filing · August 20, 2025Shares sales figures
Pollo Campero at a glance
A Latin American fried and grilled chicken restaurant with sides and family meals. At the end of 2024 there were 121 Pollo Campero locations in the US, 17 franchised and 104 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- Campero USA Corp
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2003
- 22 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Dallas, Texas
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $2.16M–$3.98M
- New restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of weekly gross sales, reduced to 2.5% in the first 12 months
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales, paid weekly; it can rise to 5%
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 121
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 17
- Company-owned
- 104
- Change in 2 years
- 0
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 19
- Most in California, Texas and New York
Support and records
- Initial training
- 4 programs
- Crew member: 8 hours in class and 32 on the job; Shift manager: 22 hours in class and 178 on the job; General manager (operator): 32 hours in class and 168 on the job; Managing owner orientation: 12 hours in class and 28 on the job
- Lawsuits disclosed
- None
- Bankruptcy disclosed
- None
- Franchisor revenue, 2024
- $280.9M
- The company, not one location
- Franchisor net loss
- $16.5M
- Latest filing
- Aug 20, 2025
- 2025 filing
From Campero USA Corp’s 2025 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 183; 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
Pollo Campero among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Pollo Campero | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $3,072,325 | Costs more than 95% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 121 | More than 79% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $3,242,596 | Higher than 96% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.1× | Lower than 74% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Pollo Campero franchise costs
Opening new restaurant costs an estimated $2,164,650 to $3,980,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are real property: building/build-out costs ($1,200,000 to $1,500,000) and real property: site development costs ($200,000 to $800,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30,000 | $40,000 | |
| Real Property: Building/Build-Out Costs | $1,200,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Real Property: Site Development Costs | $200,000 | $800,000 | |
| Soft Costs | $50,000 | $400,000 | |
| Additional Development Costs | $50,000 | $125,000 | |
| Restaurant Furniture, Equipment, Fixtures, and Décor | $350,000 | $650,000 | |
| Signs | $120,000 | $150,000 | |
| POS | $40,000 | $60,000 | |
| Opening Inventory | $16,500 | $31,500 | |
| Business and Operating Permits | $2,500 | $5,500 | |
| Initial Training Travel & Living Expenses | $12,900 | $37,500 | |
| Insurance | $10,000 | $25,000 | |
| Uniforms | $1,500 | $2,000 | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $5,250 | $23,500 | |
| Marketing Start-Up Expenditure | $40,000 | $80,000 | |
| Additional Funds—3 Months | $36,000 | $50,000 | |
| Total | $2,164,650 | $3,980,000 |
Source: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, page 22
Pollo Campero franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of weekly gross sales, reduced to 2.5% in the first 12 months. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales, paid weekly; it can rise to 5%. |
| Local Marketing Spend | At least 1% of Restaurant’s monthly Gross Sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, pages 13 and 14
Other fees as filed, from page 14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Pollo Campero publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $3,242,596
- Median sales
- $3,011,175
Yearly figures for fiscal 2024, covering U.S. restaurants open all of fiscal 2024 (75 affiliate-owned, 15 franchised) (90 locations). The average is about 1.1 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: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, pages 64–65
SBA loans to Pollo Campero franchisees
Lenders approved 4 SBA-backed loans for Pollo Campero franchisees from 2008 to 2026, $7.83M in all: 1 7(a) loan and 3 504 loans. One has been paid in full; none was charged off. The other 3 haven’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 Pollo Campero compares
Of the 113 chicken franchises on this site, Pollo Campero is the 107th cheapest to open and the 17th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Pollo Campero | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $2.16M | $407K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $3.98M | $868K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $3.24M | $2.01M | $794K |
| US locations | 121 | 10 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 20.6% | 4.5% | – |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | 0% | +16.7% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 61 of 113 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 113 brands in chicken franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 (0) | 64 | – | – |
| 2022 | 11 (−6) | 74 | +1 | −7 |
| 2023 | 15 (+4) | 77 | – | – |
| 2024 | 17 (+2) | 104 | +2 | 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.
More in the guides: chicken franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 4 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2024, franchised locations went from 17 to 17, no change. The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, page 68
2021: Campero USA Corp, 2024 filing, page 69
Where Pollo Campero locations are
At the end of 2024, Pollo Campero had locations in 20 states and territories. The most are in California, Texas and New York.
- California27
- Texas20
- New York16
- Florida12
- Maryland8
- Virginia7
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 0 | 27 | 27 |
| Texas | 1 | 19 | 20 |
| New York | 1 | 15 | 16 |
| Florida | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| Maryland | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Virginia | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Georgia | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| New Jersey | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Illinois | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Nevada | 0 | 3 | 3 |
All 20 states
| North Carolina | 3 |
|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 3 |
| Tennessee | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 2 |
| Arkansas | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 1 |
| Louisiana | 1 |
| Minnesota | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
Source: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, page 69
Who owns Pollo Campero?
Pollo Campero franchises are sold by Campero USA Corp. It is a subsidiary of Campero, Inc.
From Campero USA Corp’s 2025 filing, page 8.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| 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: Campero USA Corp, 2025 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Pollo Campero filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Campero USA Corp’s 2025 filing, issued August 20, 2025; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | August 20, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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