Muscle Maker Grill franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Muscle Maker Grill franchise takes $187,500 – $454,000 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $35,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. To qualify, Muscle Maker Grill asks for $100,000 in liquid cash and a $250,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Muscle Maker Grill franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $35,000 | $35,000 | $35,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $187,500 | $454,000 | $187,500 to $454,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $187,500 | $454,000 | $187,500 to $454,000 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 15 years |
See the full Muscle Maker Grill cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Muscle Maker Grill's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Muscle Maker Grill's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $187,500 — about 34% below the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $35,000 — about in line with 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 Muscle Maker Grill's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2015: began the window at 43 units; 55 units opened, 51 closed, ending at 46 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Muscle Maker Grill 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 Muscle Maker Grill 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 Muscle Maker Grill 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 Muscle Maker Grill 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 Muscle Maker Grill 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 Muscle Maker Grill franchise
Muscle Maker Grill is a food & beverage franchisor with 46 units at the end of 2015 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2015, it began the window at 43 units; its filings record 55 unit openings and 51 closures, ending at 46 units. Its parent company is American Restaurant Holdings Inc..
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
A MUSCLE MAKER GRILL Restaurant offers quality food, freshly prepared with our proprietary recipes, designed to please our guests, business neighbors and families The menu, created with the guest's health in mmd, as it is protem-based, will feature chicken, seafood, pasta, burgers, wraps, entree salads, smoothies, and yogurt, in a variety of assorted flavors We offer a wide selection of protein supplements and protein snacks, and, where approved by us, breakfast and a nutntious children's menu Our TVs contribute sports and news entertamment within our casual, social environment The System, as it relates to Restaurant franchises, includes a license to use the Marks and methods and procedures for the preparation and serving of both food and beverage items mcludmg, confidential recipes for food products and distinctive service accessones MUSCLE MAKER GRILL Restaurants feature distinctive, standardized premises and a charactenstic extenor style, color and design, intenor and extenor features, funushmgs, equipment and signage which, when coupled with a umform operational method, provide for a healthier dirung expenence You will also offer catermg and delivery services within a specified geographic area.
Muscle Maker Grill franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Muscle Maker Grill franchise cost?
- $187,500 – $454,000 all-in to open, per Muscle Maker Grill's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Muscle Maker Grill units are there?
- 46 units at the end of 2015 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Muscle Maker Grill's units held up?
- 48.5% of units at risk between 2013 and 2015 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).