Wahlburgers franchise
2025 filing · April 30, 2025
Wahlburgers at a glance
A full-service burger restaurant and bar serving burgers, sandwiches and a full drinks menu. At the end of its 2024 fiscal year there were 25 Wahlburgers locations in the US, 21 franchised and 4 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Wahlburgers Franchising LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2014
- 11 years of selling franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $1.53M–$2.79M
- Full-service restaurant, excluding real estate and liquor license
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- $40,000 for a restaurant under a development agreement.
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross sales each fiscal period
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales, paid with the royalty
- Renewal fee
- $20,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Territory
- None
- No exclusive territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 25
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 21
- Company-owned
- 4
Support and records
From Wahlburgers Franchising LLC’s 2025 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 163; 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
Wahlburgers among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Wahlburgers | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $2,157,500 | Costs more than 93% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 25 | More than 53% of franchises |
How much a Wahlburgers franchise costs
Opening full-service restaurant, excluding real estate and liquor license costs an estimated $1,530,000 to $2,785,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are construction/leasehold improvements ($900,000 to $1,800,000) and furnishing, fixtures, equipment ($350,000 to $450,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50,000 | ||
| Grand Opening Advertising | $15,000 | ||
| Architectural Design Services | $25,000 | $55,000 | |
| Construction/Leasehold Improvements | $900,000 | $1,800,000 | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $25,000 | $80,000 | |
| Furnishing, Fixtures, Equipment | $350,000 | $450,000 | |
| Signage | $25,000 | $35,000 | |
| Smallwares | $20,000 | $50,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $10,000 | $20,000 | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $30,000 | $60,000 | |
| Register or Point of Sale System | $30,000 | $70,000 | |
| Additional Funds -- 3 months | $50,000 | $100,000 | |
| Total | $1,530,000 | $2,785,000 | |
Source: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2025 filing, page 19
Wahlburgers franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000, $40,000 for a restaurant under a development agreement.. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2025 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales each fiscal period. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales, paid with the royalty. |
| Transfer Fee – Franchise Agreement | $5,000 |
| Renewal Fee | $20,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2025 filing, page 14
Other fees as filed, from pages 15–17. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Wahlburgers 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: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2025 filing, page 50
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $1M–$1.8M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Wahlburgers compares
Of the 63 burger franchises on this site, Wahlburgers is the 56th cheapest to open and the 31st largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Wahlburgers | Typical burger brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.53M | $556K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $2.79M | $1.52M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 25 | 25 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | −71.6% | −2.4% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 44 of 63 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 63 brands in burger franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 42 (+17) | 5 |
| 2021 | 72 (+30) | 5 |
| 2022 | 92 (+18) | 5 |
| 2023 | 106 (+14) | 4 |
| 2024 | 21 (−85) | 4 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. The outlet years below are the franchisor's fiscal years, which end on the Sunday nearest December 31. The 85 franchised locations that closed in 2024 were non-traditional units inside Hy-Vee grocery stores, closed by mutual agreement. Company-owned restaurants are run by affiliates.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: burger franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2020 to the end of 2024, franchised locations went from 25 to 21 (−4, −16%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2023 filing.
Source: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2025 filing, page 50
2020–2021: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2023 filing, page 50
Who owns Wahlburgers?
Wahlburgers franchises are sold by Wahlburgers Franchising LLC.
Famous part-owners of the franchisor: Mark Wahlberg (owns, as of 2025).
From Wahlburgers Franchising LLC’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 pages 11–12. |
|---|---|
| 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: Wahlburgers Franchising LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on pages 11–12, bankruptcy on page 12
Wahlburgers filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Wahlburgers Franchising LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 30, 2025; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 30, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
| 2023 filing | April 28, 2023 | NASAA depository | Locations, 2020–2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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