Franchise opportunities compared
Giordanos Restaurants vs Golden Corral
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.
- Giordanos Restaurants and Golden Corral 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 (Giordanos Restaurants: 20, Golden Corral: 9). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | GRGiordanos Restaurants | GCGolden Corral |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $633,000 – $1,590,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $1,475,950 – $6,162,930 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $40,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 13 | $50,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 12 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | 2% s, including a lower percentage for the Continuing License Fee and an Advertising Fee capped at — 2 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 16 | $4.00 Royaltyweekly GrossSales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 13 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $3.00 ent of daily Gross Revenues in such form and detail as we require. Advertising Fee — 3)(4) Up to — 3 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 14 | $10,000 Openingadvertising first90days 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 13 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 112 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 50 | 696 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 80 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −12 Calculated: 124 at end of 2023 → 112 at end of 2025 | −14 Calculated: 710 at end of 2023 → 696 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 available Not in reviewed records |
| 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 — Table 1 Chicagoland Full-Service City / Tourist 6 restaurants other Table 1 Chicagoland Full-Service City / Tourist · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 47 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Table 3 Chicagoland Full-Service Suburban / Urban $823,118 other Table 3 Chicagoland Full-Service Suburban / Urban · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 48 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Table 1 Chicagoland Full-Service Suburban / Urban 29 restaurants other Table 1 Chicagoland Full-Service Suburban / Urban · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 47 +17 more groups in the full report | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Small $3,698,944 other Table1 Small 2025 Average Gross Sales dollars · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 71 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Nontraditional $4,475,585 other Table1 Nontraditional 2025 Average Gross Sales dollars · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 71 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Metro $1,884,452 other Table1 Metro Average Food Cost dollars · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 71 +6 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.