Franchise opportunities compared
Famous Daves vs Ford’s Garage
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.
- Famous Daves and Ford’s Garage 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 (Famous Daves: 4, Ford’s Garage: 4). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | FDFamous Daves |  Ford’s Garage |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $53,500 – $4,440,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $2,728,800 – $3,548,800 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | Not available No single standard fee identified | $50,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed royalty record | 5.5% · percent of Gross Sales, excluding Gift Card sales Royalty Fee 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $2.00 Marketing Fund Fee annual increase up to 1/2% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 36 | 1% of gross sales Marketing Fund Contribution 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 200 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75 | 34 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 90 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −24 Calculated: 224 at end of 2023 → 200 at end of 2025 | +9 Calculated: 25 at end of 2023 → 34 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 | Not stated 2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 6 |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | 2014 2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 6 |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Company-owned $2,613,365 other net revenues · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised 30 restaurants other Below average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Company-owned Famous Dave’s restaurants open for all of fiscal 2025 15 restaurants other Below median · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74 +1 more groups in the full report | Franchised and company-owned (12 locations) — EBITDA and revenue $674,250 other Operating EBITDA from Operations · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 81 Franchised and company-owned (8 locations) — EBITDA and revenue $163,538 other Operating EBITDA from Operations · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 81 Franchised and company-owned (24 locations) — revenue $5,730,457 other Gross Revenue · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 83 +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.