Quick Verdict · who it fits
El Pollo Loco fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mid-scale food & beverage concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$794K - $2.7M
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$40K
Royalty (Item 6)
5% + 4–5% ad
Item 19 median rev
$2.06M all franchised units
System size (Item 20)
328 +11
Years in business
37+ yrs
Item 3 litigation
6 suits
Model El Pollo Loco's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Buyer qualifications
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Where units actually land — not just the headline average.
P25
$1.29M
Median
$2.06M
P75
$2.33M
▪ n = 319 units · all franchised units · fiscal year 2025 · Source: 2026 FDD Item 19
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 5% + ad fund 4–5% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$2,060,000
$100k$3.8M
Royalty (5%)
—
Ad fund (4–5%)
—
Total / year
—
▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
503
Total units open
5
Units opened last year
2
Units closed last year
3
Net unit growth
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
5
Risks to review
4
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How El Pollo Loco ranks against 811 Food & Beverage peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
83rd pct · of 811 peers
Franchise fee
57th pct · of 811 peers
System size
89th pct · of 811 peers
Food & Beverage industry averages
Avg investment
$528K - $1.3M
Avg franchise fee
$38K
Avg system size
235
Franchises analyzed
811
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Pollo Loco | Disclosed | $40K | $794K - $2.7M | 5% | 328 |
| Honest Hospitality GroupSimilar price | Disclosed | $25K | $1.9M - $2.7M | 5.5% | 40 |
| Doctor's AssociatesBiggest system | None | $15K | $227K - $630K | 8% | 18,773 |
| Vintage Hospitality GroupTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $50K | $3.5M - $6.4M | 5.5% | 33 |
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Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
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Brand Analysis
Chipotle reported 4,186 company-operated restaurants and 15 international licensed restaurants as of June 30, 2026. None are franchised, there is no FDD, and there is nothing to apply for. Qdoba is the franchised version of the same order line, and its 12/25 FDD puts a traditional restaurant at $548,100 to $1,294,000.
Brand Analysis
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. reported 656 company-operated stores in 43 states as of January 30, 2026, and the brand has never sold a franchise. Huddle House and Another Broken Egg cover the same daypart with filed FDDs, at $555,375 to $1,715,275 and $792,500 to $1,804,000.
El Pollo Loco requires a $40,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $793,750–$2,685,500, per the most recent FDD on file.
El Pollo Loco franchises are sold by El Pollo Loco, Inc., the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the corporate structure, including any parent companies and predecessors.
Yes. El Pollo Loco discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $2,063,270. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 5% of monthly Net Sales and an advertising fund contribution of 4.0% to 5.0% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, El Pollo Loco has 328 total locations, with 11 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt