Franchise opportunities compared
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen vs Potbelly Sandwich Works
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.
- Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen 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 (Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen: 65, Potbelly Sandwich Works: 55). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | PLPopeyes Louisiana Kitchen |  Potbelly Sandwich Works |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $504,545 – $3,923,245 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $628,938 itional Funds (3 months) (15) $100 $50,000 As Agreed As Incurred Third Parties Total — 628938 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 27 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $50,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 25 | Not available No single standard fee identified |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $5.00 Royalty fee 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 29 | $50 000, (2) temporarily reduce the Royalty percentage payable for that Potbelly Shop by — 50% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 17 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $5.00 Advertising contribution — high 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 29 | $3.00 ype of fee 1 Column 2 Amount Column 3 Due Date Column 4 Remarks Brand Fund Currently — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 19 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | Not available No reviewed outlet counts | 940 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | Not available Only one year reported | +90 Calculated: 850 at end of 2023 → 940 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) | 1973 From a verified franchisor listing | 2009 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 — Free-standing consolidated 346 restaurants other Table I free-standing count meeting average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 90 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Free-standing restaurants — company-owned $1,898,999 other Table I free-standing average annual sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 90 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Free-standing restaurants — franchised $492,576 other Table I free-standing low annual sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 90 +62 more groups in the full report | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Systemwide franchised+affiliate — Suburban 270 shops other Systemwide franchised+affiliate 2025 Suburban · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Systemwide franchised+affiliate — Urban 54 shops other Systemwide franchised+affiliate 2025 Urban · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Systemwide franchised+affiliate — All Shops 415 shops other Systemwide franchised+affiliate 2024 All Shops · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73 +52 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.