Ramblin' Joe's franchise
2026 filing · February 23, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Ramblin' Joe's at a glance
A drive-thru café with limited seating serving specialty coffee, tea, smoothies, baked goods and sandwiches. At the end of 2025 there were 3 Ramblin' Joe's locations in the US, 1 franchised and 2 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $161K–$414K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales, paid monthly, plus 2% to the brand marketing fund and 1% on local marketing
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- 25% of our then current Initial Franchise Fee
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 3
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 1
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 3 years
- +1
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 1
- Most in Tennessee
From Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Ramblin' Joe's among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Ramblin' Joe's | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $287,350 | Costs less than 58% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 3 | Fewer than 78% of franchises |
How much a Ramblin' Joe's franchise costs
Opening one Ramblin' Joe's costs an estimated $160,700 to $414,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 17
Ramblin' Joe's franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales, paid monthly, plus 2% to the brand marketing fund and 1% on local marketing. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
| Computer, Software and Point of Sales System | $2,000 – $4,000 |
| Renewal | 25% of our then current Initial Franchise Fee |
| Franchisee Directed Local Marketing | 1% of Gross Sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 12–16. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Ramblin' Joe's publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 46
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $460K–$800K
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Ramblin' Joe's compares
Of the 117 coffee franchises on this site, Ramblin' Joe's is the 8th cheapest to open and the 78th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Ramblin' Joe's | Typical coffee brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $161K | $350K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $414K | $741K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 1.5% | 2% |
| US locations | 3 | 8 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 0% | 2.6% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 69 of 117 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 117 brands in coffee franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 (+1) | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 (0) | 2 | 0 | 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.
Ramblin' Joe's passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it had fewer than 100 US locations three years ago.
More in the guides: coffee franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 51
Where Ramblin' Joe's locations are
At the end of 2025, Ramblin' Joe's had locations in 1 state. The most are in Tennessee.
- Tennessee3
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Source: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 51
Who owns Ramblin' Joe's?
Ramblin' Joe's franchises are sold by Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC.
From Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC’s 2026 filing.
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: Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Ramblin' Joe's filings
The figures on this page come from Ramblin' Joe Franchising, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued February 23, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | February 23, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other coffee franchises
All coffee franchises
Ramblin' Joe's is also on these lists: food franchises.