Franchise opportunities compared
Cowboy Jacks vs Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner
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.
- Cowboy Jacks and Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner disclose more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
- Only Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner has reviewed Item 19 figures here.
| Disclosure | CJCowboy Jacks |  Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $1,458,050 – $6,130,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $1,146,750 – $4,672,125 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $45,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 8 | $40,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | 5% Royalty monthly gross sales percentage or minimum when greater 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 9 | $4.00 Royalty: 4% of Gross Sales, due weekly on or before Wednesday by ACH 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | 1% Marketing Fund monthly gross sales percentage — 1% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 9 | $3.00 Aggregate cap on all required marketing expenditures: 3% of Gross Sales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 9 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 35 | 4 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 54 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −1 Calculated: 10 at end of 2023 → 9 at end of 2025 | −11 Calculated: 15 at end of 2023 → 4 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) | Not available Not in reviewed records | 1966 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 | Not disclosed — no Item 19 financial performance representation | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Egg N’ Joe restaurants operating at least one full year $1,297,789 other Egg N’ Joe #1 gross sales 2024 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 51 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Elmer’s Kitchen restaurants operating at least one full year $2,400,369 other Elmer’s Kitchen #1 gross sales 2024 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 53 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Elmer’s Restaurants open at least one full year $6,243,497 other Elmer’s A · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 52 +1 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.