Franchise opportunities compared
Hickory River Smokehouse vs Lees Famous Recipe
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.
- Hickory River Smokehouse and Lees Famous Recipe 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 (Hickory River Smokehouse: 1, Lees Famous Recipe: 9). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Hickory River Smokehouse | LFLees Famous Recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $315,000 – $1,084,500 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $640,600 – $1,447,400 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $30,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 8 | Not available No single standard fee identified |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $5.00 Royalty Fee — 5% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 8 | $5.00 Royalty 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 19 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $3.00 National Marketing Fee — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 8 | $1.00 LegacyLFRlicenseeadvertisingrate 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 5 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 34 | 127 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 71 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −1 Calculated: 6 at end of 2023 → 5 at end of 2025 | +4 Calculated: 123 at end of 2023 → 127 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 $1,536,579 other Revenue · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 33 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Affiliate-owned Lee’s Famous Recipe locations open and operated in 2025; Part I $2,000,774 other All30 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 62 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — All30 affiliate locations groupedbygrosssales $698,109 other All30 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 62 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — All30affiliate locations; sourceaverageattainmentlabel notexplicitmetric, narra… $4,042,884 other All30 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 62 +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.