Franopolis

    Franchise opportunities compared

    Famous Daves vs IHOP and International House of Pancakes

    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 IHOP and International House of Pancakes 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, IHOP and International House of Pancakes: 8). Different groups are not directly comparable.
    DisclosureFDFamous DavesIHOP and International House of Pancakes
    Financial commitment
    Estimated initial investment (Item 7)
    $53,500 – $4,440,000
    2026 FDD · Item 7
    $616,682 – $4,632,445
    2026 FDD · Item 7
    Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)
    Not available
    No single standard fee identified
    Not available
    No single standard fee identified
    Royalty (Item 6)
    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record
    $4.50
    OTHER FEES Type of Fee 1 Amount Due Date Remarks Royalty — 4.5%
    2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 19
    Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)
    $2.00
    Marketing Fund Fee annual increase up to 1/2%
    2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 36
    $3.50
    revenue from the Restaurant except sales or use tax. National Advertising Fee Up to — 3.5%
    2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 19
    System scale & health
    Total outlets (Item 20)
    200
    Outlets at end of 2025
    2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75
    126
    Outlets at end of 2025
    2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 55
    Net outlet change (Item 20)
    −24
    Calculated: 224 at end of 2023 → 200 at end of 2025
    +36
    Calculated: 90 at end of 2023 → 126 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
    1960
    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 — 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
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Northea stnontraditionalIHOPfranchised
    $1,116,542
    other Northea st 2024 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 54
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — WestnontraditionalIHOPfranchised
    1 restaurants
    other West 2024 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 54
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — SouthnontraditionalIHOPfranchised
    35 percent
    other South 2024 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 54
    +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.

    Full Famous Daves reportFull IHOP and International House of Pancakes reportAdd more brands to compare