Franchise opportunities compared
Golden Corral vs Green Mill Restaurants
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
- Golden Corral figures come from its 2026 FDD and Green Mill Restaurants figures from its 2025 FDD, so the years differ.
- Golden Corral and Green Mill Restaurants disclose more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
- Only Golden Corral has reviewed Item 19 figures here.
| Disclosure | GCGolden Corral | GMGreen Mill Restaurants |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $1,475,950 – $6,162,930 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $0.00 – $1,681,800 2025 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $50,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 12 | Not available No single standard fee identified |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $4.00 Royaltyweekly GrossSales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 13 | Not available No reviewed royalty record |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $10,000 Openingadvertising first90days 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 13 | $1.50 Advertising fund — 1 1/2% of Gross Sales 2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 11 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 696 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 80 | 14 Outlets at end of 2024 2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 40 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −14 Calculated: 710 at end of 2023 → 696 at end of 2025 | −3 Calculated: 17 at end of 2022 → 14 at end of 2024 |
| 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 — 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 | Not disclosed — no Item 19 financial performance representation |
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.