Bojangles

The franchise fee is $35,000 flat ($20,000 for Bojangles Express format). That's mid-range for QSR — more than Hardee's ($25K) but less than Jack in the Box ($50K). Add a $10,000 development fee and a $2,500 extension fee if your timeline slips.

The total investment range is $2.80M to $3.66M — driven primarily by the building ($1.1M–$1.3M construction) and site work ($625K–$800K). That site work figure is unusually high and reflects Bojangles' preference for freestanding drive-through locations with significant land requirements. Equipment, furniture, signage and fixtures add $655K to $800K. Working capital for three months is $31K to $186K — the low end is thin for a restaurant doing $2M+ in annual revenue.

Ongoing fees are 4% royalty plus 4% advertising fund — 8% total, below the QSR average of 9–10%. The renewal fee is $17,500 (half a franchise fee — notable, and means a 20-year renewal costs real money). Transfer fee is $5,000, which is low and suggests Bojangles wants to facilitate resales rather than trap franchisees.

Bojangles discloses Item 19 data based on 470 franchised restaurants. Average annual gross revenue is $2,441,735; median is $2,157,821. The gap between average and median ($284K) suggests a meaningful tail of high performers pulling the average up — the typical Bojangles franchisee is closer to the $2.16M median.

At median revenue with an 8% fee burden, you're paying $172,626 to the franchisor annually. A well-run QSR typically generates 12–18% operating margin before debt service. At 15% on $2.16M, that's $324K in operating income before you service a $3M construction loan. At 6% interest on $2.5M financed, you're paying $150K/year in interest alone. Net cash flow gets tight quickly — which explains the 11-year payback period calculation.

The Bojangles Express format ($20K franchise fee, lower total investment) is worth exploring for buyers who want exposure to the brand with lower capital at risk. The FDD doesn't break out Express vs. traditional revenue separately, so due diligence with existing Express operators is essential.

Bojangles has grown from 788 units in 2022 to 825 in 2024 — a net gain of 37 units over three years. In 2024, 37 new locations opened against 25 closures, a net of 12. That's modest but consistent positive growth, and the ratio of openings to closures (1.5:1) is healthy for a regional brand.

The brand has 266 company-owned locations — 32% of the system — which is high for a franchise brand. Corporate ownership at that level signals that Bojangles is willing to operate restaurants itself, which can mean either (a) they're confident in the unit economics, or (b) they struggled to find franchisees in certain markets and filled the gap. The company went private in 2021 after being acquired by Durational Capital Management, ending its NYSE listing. Private ownership means less financial transparency about the parent but also fewer short-term earnings pressures.

Geographically, Bojangles is heavily concentrated in the Carolinas, Georgia, and surrounding states. Expansion into new markets (Ohio, Indiana, Texas) is happening but slowly. A franchisee in a non-Southeastern market faces a steeper marketing hill than one in Charlotte or Atlanta, where the brand has 50+ years of customer habit.

The site work cost of $625K–$800K is the most overlooked line item in the Bojangles FDD. It reflects their preference for pad-ready or greenfield freestanding sites — not in-line strip mall locations. If you're in a market where good drive-through pads are scarce or expensive, your real land and site costs could push the total investment well above the published range. Buyers should price out specific sites before committing to a development agreement.

Bojangles requires a $2,500 extension fee per deadline missed during development. If permitting, construction, or equipment delivery delays are common in your market (and they are in many municipalities post-COVID), these fees accumulate. Budget for at least one extension before opening.

The brand's regional concentration is both its strength and its constraint. Bojangles loyalty in the Southeast is real — but attempting to bring that loyalty to Chicago or Phoenix means operating without the brand recognition that drives the revenue averages. The Item 19 data (470 restaurants) skews heavily toward established Southeastern markets. A new franchisee in an expansion market should discount those averages significantly when building their own projections.