Pretzelmaker franchise
2025 filing · April 30, 2025Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Pretzelmaker at a glance
A mall and food court pretzel shop baking soft pretzels, pretzel bites and dips. At the end of 2024 there were 129 Pretzelmaker locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- PM Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Beverly Hills, California
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $392K–$573K
- Traditional restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 7%
- 7% of net sales, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of net sales
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 40% of then-current initial fee
- Agreement length
- 15 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 129
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 129
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- −28
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 32
- Most in Texas, Connecticut and Utah
From PM Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Pretzelmaker among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Pretzelmaker | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $482,250 | Costs more than 62% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 7% | Higher than 70% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 129 | More than 80% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $518,148 | Lower than 70% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.1× | Lower than 73% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Pretzelmaker franchise costs
Opening Traditional restaurant costs an estimated $391,500 to $573,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 35
Pretzelmaker franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 23
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 7% of net sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of net sales. |
| Brand Technology System Support Services | Currently, $840-$1,500 per year for mandatory |
| Transfer | $15,000 |
| Renewal Fee | 40% of then-current initial fee |
| Local Advertising | Currently 2% of total net sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 25
Other fees as filed, from pages 25–29. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Pretzelmaker publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average net sales
- $518,148
- Median net sales
- $476,333
Yearly figures for 2024, covering stand-alone (not co-branded) franchised U.S. stores open all 12 months of 2024 (84 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: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, pages 84–89
SBA loans to Pretzelmaker franchisees
Lenders approved 30 SBA 7(a) loans for Pretzelmaker franchisees from 1994 to 2018, $4.04M in all. Of the 29 that have ended, 26 were paid in full and 3 were charged off (10.3%). 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
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Pretzelmaker | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −5.1% / −18% | +3.3% / +5.9% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 8.8% / 25% | 3.2% / 11% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical bakery brand is the median of the 33 brands in bakery franchises with three years of counts.
How Pretzelmaker compares
Of the 112 bakery franchises on this site, Pretzelmaker is the 62nd cheapest to open and the 23rd largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Pretzelmaker | Typical bakery brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $392K | $341K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $573K | $720K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $40K | $40K |
| Royalty | 7% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $518K | $792K | $794K |
| US locations | 129 | 16 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 74 of 112 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 112 brands in bakery franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 147 (−10) | 0 | +2 | −12 |
| 2023 | 136 (−11) | 0 | +5 | −16 |
| 2024 | 129 (−7) | 0 | +5 | −12 |
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: fast food franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 91
Where Pretzelmaker locations are
At the end of 2024, Pretzelmaker had franchised locations in 32 states. The most are in Texas, Connecticut and Utah.
- Texas24
- Connecticut13
- Utah8
- California7
- Georgia7
- Iowa7
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Texas | 24 |
| Connecticut | 13 |
| Utah | 8 |
| California | 7 |
| Georgia | 7 |
| Iowa | 7 |
| Florida | 6 |
| New York | 6 |
| Massachusetts | 4 |
| Minnesota | 4 |
All 32 states
Source: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 93
Who owns Pretzelmaker?
Pretzelmaker franchises are sold by PM Franchising, LLC. It is a subsidiary of PM Franchise Brands, LLC.
Pretzelmaker is one of the 9 FAT Brands franchises here. FAT Brands is a public company whose shares were listed on Nasdaq. It and its affiliate Twin Hospitality filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2026 to restructure their debt.
From PM Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, page 10; FAT Brands.
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 19–22. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | The franchisor, its parent FAT Brands and their affiliates filed for Chapter 11 in January 2026. |
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: PM Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 19–22, bankruptcy on page 22
Pretzelmaker filings
The figures on this page come from PM Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 30, 2025, on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 30, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other bakery franchises
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