Franchise opportunities compared
Moe’s Southwest Grill vs Rusty Taco
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.
- Rusty Taco discloses 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 (Moe’s Southwest Grill: 5, Rusty Taco: 5). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | MSMoe’s Southwest Grill | RTRusty Taco |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $644,425 Endcap and Inline 23 $644,425 $1,401,650 Total Initial Investment – Freestanding 23 — 644425 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 43 | $529,400 – $1,129,950 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $7,500 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 29 | $30,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $5.00 OTHER FEES Type of Fee 1 Amount Date Due Remarks Royalty Fee — 5% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 30 | $5.00 Royalty rate 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $1.00 Marketing Obligation Currently, each calendar quarter, you must spend not less than — 1% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 31 | $2.00 Brand Fund contribution 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 1,136 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 85 | Not available No reviewed outlet counts |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −88 Calculated: 1,224 at end of 2023 → 1,136 at end of 2025 | Not available Only one year reported |
| 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) | 2001 From a verified franchisor listing | 2011 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 — Traditional eligiblefranchises Top Quartile $1,686,299 other Top Quartile · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 83 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Traditional eligiblefranchises Total $1,137,571 other Total · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 83 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Traditional eligiblefranchises 3rd Quartile $879,161 other 3rd Quartile · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 83 +2 more groups in the full report | Franchised (23 locations) — other measures $1,840,716 other Total Data Set · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 44 Franchised (8 locations) — other measures — Top Third of traditional franchised Rusty Taco restaurants in the 2025 data set 4 units other Top Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 44 Franchised (8 locations) — other measures — Bottom Third of traditional franchised Rusty Taco restaurants in the 2025 data… 50 percent other Bottom Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 44 +2 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.