Steak Escape Sandwich Grill franchise
2025 filing · March 31, 2025Fewer locations
Steak Escape Sandwich Grill at a glance
A quick-service restaurant serving specialty grilled sandwiches, salads, potatoes and fresh-cut fries. At the end of 2024 there were 23 Steak Escape Sandwich Grill locations in the US, 19 franchised and 4 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Escape Enterprises, Ltd
- The company that sells the franchises
- Typical size
- 1,000–2,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $240K–$829K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross sales
- Brand fund
- Yes
- 0.5% of gross sales in malls and 1.5% elsewhere; they can rise to 2% and 3%
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 23
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 19
- Company-owned
- 4
- Change in 3 years
- −9
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 8
- Most in Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee
Support and records
From Escape Enterprises, Ltd’s 2025 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 238; 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
Steak Escape Sandwich Grill among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Steak Escape Sandwich Grill | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $534,000 | Costs more than 67% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 23 | More than 51% of franchises |
How much a Steak Escape Sandwich Grill franchise costs
Opening one Steak Escape Sandwich Grill costs an estimated $239,500 to $828,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are construction and leasehold improvements ($75,000 to $475,000) and furniture, fixtures and equipment ($77,000 to $140,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25,000 | ||
| Initial Training Expenses | $2,000 | $4,000 | |
| Initial Inventory of Food, Paper Products and Misc. Supplies | $5,000 | $10,000 | |
| Space Lease (Security Deposit and First Three Months’ Rent) | $6,000 | $24,000 | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $75,000 | $475,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $77,000 | $140,000 | |
| Signs and Graphics | $7,000 | $37,000 | |
| POS System | $3,500 | $15,000 | |
| Lease Negotiation Legal Expenses | $2,000 | $10,000 | |
| Architectural Services | $8,000 | $35,000 | |
| Insurance | $2,000 | $7,500 | |
| Uniforms | $1,000 | $2,000 | |
| Pre-Opening Advertising | $4,000 | $10,000 | |
| Utility Deposits, Business Licenses, and Prepaid Expenses | $2,000 | $4,000 | |
| Additional Funds – Three Months | $20,000 | $30,000 | |
| Total | $239,500 | $828,500 | |
Source: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, page 17
Steak Escape Sandwich Grill franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, page 13
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 0.5% of gross sales in malls and 1.5% elsewhere; they can rise to 2% and 3%. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, page 14
Sales and earnings
No figures Steak Escape Sandwich Grill does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, page 36
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $530K–$920K
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Steak Escape Sandwich Grill franchisees
Lenders approved 40 SBA 7(a) loans for Steak Escape Sandwich Grill franchisees from 1991 to 2026, $7.65M in all. Of the 39 that have ended, 25 were paid in full and 14 were charged off (35.9%). 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 | Steak Escape Sandwich Grill | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −17% / −32% | 0% / 0% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 22% / 36% | 2% / 13% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 3.6% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical sandwich brand is the median of the 35 brands in sandwich franchises with three years of counts.
How Steak Escape Sandwich Grill compares
Of the 80 sandwich franchises on this site, Steak Escape Sandwich Grill is the 23rd cheapest to open and the 41st largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Steak Escape Sandwich Grill | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $240K | $321K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $829K | $683K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $32K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| US locations | 23 | 31 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 50 of 80 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 80 brands in sandwich franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 (−3) | 3 | – | – |
| 2022 | 24 (−4) | 3 | +1 | −5 |
| 2023 | 23 (−1) | 4 | 0 | −1 |
| 2024 | 19 (−4) | 4 | +1 | −5 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. Counts leave out the delivery-only REEF Kitchens outlets the filing lists separately (13 at the start of 2022, none by the end of 2023).
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: sandwich and sub franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 4 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2024, franchised locations went from 31 to 19 (−12, −39%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, page 37
2021: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2024 filing, page 37
Where Steak Escape Sandwich Grill locations are
At the end of 2024, Steak Escape Sandwich Grill had locations in 8 states. The most are in Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee.
- Mississippi6
- Ohio6
- Tennessee3
- West Virginia3
- Wisconsin2
- Indiana1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Ohio | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Tennessee | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Indiana | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| North Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, page 40
Who owns Steak Escape Sandwich Grill?
Steak Escape Sandwich Grill franchises are sold by Escape Enterprises, Ltd.
From Escape Enterprises, Ltd’s 2025 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 13. |
|---|---|
| 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: Escape Enterprises, Ltd, 2025 filing, litigation on page 13, bankruptcy on page 13
Steak Escape Sandwich Grill filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Escape Enterprises, Ltd’s 2025 filing, issued March 31, 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 | March 31, 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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Steak Escape Sandwich Grill is also on these lists: fast food franchises, restaurant franchises, food franchises.