Franchise opportunities compared
Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner vs The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
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.
- Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner and The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. 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 (Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner: 4, The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.: 8). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Elmer’s Breakfast*Lunch*Dinner |  The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $1,146,750 – $4,672,125 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $5,000 – $1,797,654 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $40,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 | $20 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $4.00 Royalty: 4% of Gross Sales, due weekly on or before Wednesday by ACH 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 | $5.00 ITEM 6. OTHER FEES Type of Fee 1 Amount Due Date Remarks Royalty and Service Fee 2 — 5% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $3.00 Aggregate cap on all required marketing expenditures: 3% of Gross Sales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 | $3.00 he Royalty and Service Fee payments. Brand Development Contribution — “BDF”). 2 Up to — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 4 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 54 | 93 Outlets at end of 2026 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 52 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −11 Calculated: 15 at end of 2023 → 4 at end of 2025 | +1 Calculated: 92 at end of 2024 → 93 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) | 1966 From a verified franchisor listing | 1984 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 — 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 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised Top Third 12 restaurants other Franchised Top Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised Middle Third 14 restaurants other Franchised Middle Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised Bottom Third $1,570,349 other Franchised Bottom Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 +5 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.