Franchise opportunities compared
Hardees Restaurants vs Hickory River Smokehouse
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.
- Hardees Restaurants and Hickory River Smokehouse 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 (Hardees Restaurants: 2, Hickory River Smokehouse: 1). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | HRHardees Restaurants |  Hickory River Smokehouse |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $57,000 – $1,385,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $315,000 – $1,084,500 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $25,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 28 | $30,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 8 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $3.00 i) — 3% ment and Franchised Agreement, we will reduce each of the royalty fee and APO by 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 38 | $5.00 Royalty Fee — 5% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 8 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $4.25 d by the Franchise Agreement. Hardee’s National Advertising Fund — “HNAF”) Currently, — 4.25% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 31 | $3.00 National Marketing Fee — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 8 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 396 Outlets at end of 2026 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 77 | 5 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 34 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −12 Calculated: 408 at end of 2024 → 396 at end of 2026 | −1 Calculated: 6 at end of 2023 → 5 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 — USfreestandingHardee’s 88 restaurants other Company-owned · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 75 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — USfreestandingHardee’s 50.1 percent other Franchised · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 75 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record $1,536,579 other Revenue · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 33 |
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.