Franchise opportunities compared
Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants, Inc vs Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe
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.
- Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants, Inc discloses 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 (Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants, Inc: 26, Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe: 16). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants, Inc |  Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $214,000 – $1,915,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $646,000 – $1,112,750 Total initial investment for one Pickleman’s Gourmet Cafe — low estimate 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 15 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $30,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 16 | $35,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $2.00 Nontraditional net sales royalty 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 20 | 6% Royalty percentage of gross sales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $15,000 New restaurant initial advertising deposit 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 18 | 3% Advertising fee percentage of gross sales — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 288 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 84 | 35 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 39 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −9 Calculated: 297 at end of 2023 → 288 at end of 2025 | +6 Calculated: 29 at end of 2023 → 35 at end of 2025 |
| 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) | 1999 From a verified franchisor listing | 2008 From a verified franchisor listing |
| 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 — Two new company-owned Checkers 50 percent other New company Checkers · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 76 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Checkers Table A ALL CHECKERS RESTAURANTS 115 restaurants other Checkers Table A ALL CHECKERS RESTAURANTS Company- owned · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 72 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Checkers Table A ALL CHECKERS RESTAURANTS $1,136,589 other Checkers Table A ALL CHECKERS RESTAURANTS Franchised · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 72 +23 more groups in the full report | Franchised (8 locations) — other measures — Quartile2 of31full-yearfranchises $1,456,404 other Quartile2 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 36 Franchised (31 locations) — other measures and revenue $1,447,902 other Table1 Average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 36 Franchised (27 locations) — other measures and revenue $1,435,041 other Table2 Average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 36 +13 more groups in the full report |
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.