Franchise opportunities compared
Buona Chicago Italian Beef vs Hardees Restaurants
Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- Buona Chicago Italian Beef and Hardees Restaurants disclose more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
- Item 19 figures cover the location groups each FDD names (Buona Chicago Italian Beef: 53, Hardees Restaurants: 2). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Buona Chicago Italian Beef | HRHardees Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $1,464,697 – $5,871,375 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $57,000 – $1,385,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $16,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 15 | $25,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 28 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $4.00 Termination damages royalty factor, remaining months/trailing 36-month sales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 22 | $3.00 i) — 3% ment and Franchised Agreement, we will reduce each of the royalty fee and APO by 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 38 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $16,000 Additional single-brand development credit 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15 | $4.25 d by the Franchise Agreement. Hardee’s National Advertising Fund — “HNAF”) Currently, — 4.25% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 31 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 1 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 80 | 396 Outlets at end of 2026 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 77 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −27 Calculated: 28 at end of 2023 → 1 at end of 2025 | −12 Calculated: 408 at end of 2024 → 396 at end of 2026 |
| Outlet exits (Item 20) | Not available No complete exit records for a year | Not available No complete exit records for a year |
| Franchising since (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Single-brand drive-through — Store 1 91.9 percent other Single-brand drive-through · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 69 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Single-brand drive-through — Store 2 $2,469,045 other Single-brand drive-through · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 69 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Single-brand drive-through — Store 3 $3,731,203 other Single-brand drive-through · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 69 +50 more groups in the full report | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — USfreestandingHardee’s 88 restaurants other Company-owned · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 75 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — USfreestandingHardee’s 50.1 percent other Franchised · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 75 |
Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.