Johnny's Italian Steakhouse franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Johnny's Italian Steakhouse franchise takes $1,400,000 – $4,400,000 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $75,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. To qualify, Johnny's Italian Steakhouse asks for $500,000 in liquid cash and a $2,500,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Johnny's Italian Steakhouse franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $75,000 | $75,000 | $75,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $1,400,000 | $4,400,000 | $1,400,000 to $4,400,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $1,400,000 | $4,400,000 | $1,400,000 to $4,400,000 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
See the full Johnny's Italian Steakhouse cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Johnny's Italian Steakhouse's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Johnny's Italian Steakhouse's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $1,400,000 — about 5× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $75,000 — about 2.1× 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2013–2021: began the window at 0 units; 4 units opened, 2 closed, ending at 4 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse 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 Johnny's Italian Steakhouse franchise
Johnny's Italian Steakhouse is a food & beverage franchisor with 4 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2013 and 2021, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 4 unit openings and 2 closures, ending at 4 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Heart of America Group.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse Restaurants are full-service restaurants that feature steaks, seafood, pasta and other Italian cuisine menu items in a distinctive supper club atmosphere.
Johnny's Italian Steakhouse franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Johnny's Italian Steakhouse franchise cost?
- $1,400,000 – $4,400,000 all-in to open, per Johnny's Italian Steakhouse's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Johnny's Italian Steakhouse units are there?
- 4 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Johnny's Italian Steakhouse's units held up?
- 66.7% of units at risk between 2019 and 2021 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).