Buffalo Wild Wings franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise takes $2,450,345 – $4,883,320 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $12,500 – $156,200. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 3%. To qualify, Buffalo Wild Wings asks for $750,000 in liquid cash and a $1,500,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Buffalo Wild Wings franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $12,500 | $156,200 | $12,500 to $156,200 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $2,450,345 | $4,883,320 | $2,450,345 to $4,883,320 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | $1,500,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $750,000 | $750,000 | $750,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $2,450,345 | $4,883,320 | $2,450,345 to $4,883,320 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 3% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
See the full Buffalo Wild Wings cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Buffalo Wild Wings's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Buffalo Wild Wings's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $2,450,345 — about 8.7× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $12,500 — about 64% below the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How Buffalo Wild Wings's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 498 units; 248 units opened, 69 closed, ending at 530 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Buffalo Wild Wings or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Buffalo Wild Wings for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Buffalo Wild Wings is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Buffalo Wild Wings grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Buffalo Wild Wings can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Buffalo Wild Wings franchise
Buffalo Wild Wings is a food & beverage franchisor with 530 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 498 units; its filings record 248 unit openings and 69 closures, ending at 530 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Inspire Brands.
Disclosure filings report 1 franchise-related lawsuit. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
We grant you the right to operate a BUFFALO WILD WINGS Restaurant. Your Restaurant will have a sports entertainment-oriented, casual/fast casual restaurant theme, and will offer on-premises dining and carry-out and offer for sale a wide variety of chicken wings, sandwiches and other products and beverages, including alcoholic beverages.
Buffalo Wild Wings franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise cost?
- $2,450,345 – $4,883,320 all-in to open, per Buffalo Wild Wings's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Buffalo Wild Wings units are there?
- 530 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Buffalo Wild Wings's units held up?
- 96.1% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).