Little Caesars Franchise Costs, Fees & FDD

Year Business Began: 1959

Franchising Since: 1962

Headquarters: Detroit, Michigan

Estimated Number of Units: 4,285 (US locations only)

Franchise Description: Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. is the franchisor. Little Caesars restaurants feature pizza, chicken wings, Crazy Bread products and other related products. Little Caesars restaurants generally are carryout-only restaurants, sometimes with a drive-thru window. The franchisor currently offers both single Little Caesars restaurant franchises and a territory reservation agreement that allows franchisees to reserve a territory for potential development of multiple Little Caesars restaurant franchises. A food truck program is also available to existing franchisees who already operate one or more restaurants.
Training Overview: Before starting the training program, franchisees who are new to the Little Caesars brand must complete pre-training steps, consisting of: (1) a Discovery Day and interview with the franchisor’s Franchise Development personnel (6 hours); (2) real estate/architectural/equipment training (12 hours); and (3) On-Site Evaluation with a zone manager in a restaurant (minimum of 8 hours; up to 2 days). All trainees must complete the training program to the franchisor’s satisfaction. The training program currently consists of 64 hours of classroom training and 250 on-the-job "in-store" training. As part of the initial training, the franchisor provides food safety certification; currently, the franchisor offers the National Restaurant Association ServSafe program. Franchisees and any employees the franchisor designates must complete additional training programs as it may reasonably require from time to time. Franchisees (or an owner or individual they designate and the franchisor approves), at their expense, must attend all meetings, seminars and conferences the franchisor may specify as mandatory, including all regional and national meetings, all meetings related to new products or product preparation procedures, new system programs, new operations procedures or programs, training, restaurant management, financial management, sales or sales promotion, or similar topics and annual conferences.

Territory Granted: The Franchise Agreement grants franchisees the right to operate the restaurant only at the approved location. The Franchise Agreement typically defines a protected territory within which the franchisor will not establish, operate, or license another business using the proprietary marks and system. The protected territory is usually defined as the area within a one-mile radius of the approved location. Under certain circumstances, however (e.g. the restaurant will be located in a highly populated urban area), the protected territory may be reduced to a distance of 1/2 mile or less, or a protected territory won't be granted. If the approved location is within any of the five boroughs of the City of New York, New York, the franchisor will not provide a protected territory. Franchisees do not receive an exclusive territory and may face competition from other franchisees, franchisor-owned outlets, and other channels of distribution. The franchisor and its affiliates retain the right to own, operate, and license non-traditional restaurants inside the protected territory.

Obligations and Restrictions: The franchisor requires that the franchisee (or, if the franchisee is a business entity, a principal) or an individual approved by the franchisor devote his or her full time and best efforts to on-site management and operation of the restaurant. If franchisees are granted franchises for more than one restaurant, they must continue to personally supervise the operation of all their restaurants. If the restaurants are located in different market areas or if franchisees elect not to reside in the same geographic area as their restaurants, the franchisor must approve their on-site operator(s), and it may require that they have a minimum equity interest in the entity that operates and/or owns the restaurants they supervise. Franchisees must operate the restaurant in strict conformity with the methods, standards and specifications that the franchisor prescribes in its Operational Resource Guide or otherwise in writing.

Term of Agreement and Renewal: The length of the initial franchise term is generally 10 years. There is generally one renewal term of 10 years from the end of the initial term. All renewals are subject to contractual requirements.

Financial Assistance: The franchisor does not offer direct or indirect financing. The franchisor does not guarantee a franchisee’s note, lease or obligation.

Estimated Initial Investment

Name of Fee	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee	$20,000	$20,000
Rent	$1,500	$8,500
Leasehold Improvements	$50,000	$1,000,000
Supplies and Equipment from Blue Line	$235,000	$460,000
Other Fixtures, Equipment, and Signage	$15,000	$158,000
Grand Opening Advertising	$15,000	$15,000
Training Expenses	$12,000	$16,500
Opening Food, Paper Goods, Cleaning Chemicals and Supplies	$7,000	$9,000
Insurance	$500	$1,200
Utility Expenses	$1,000	$9,000
Licenses and Permits	$2,500	$25,000
Additional Funds - 3 months	$17,000	$47,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL	$376,500	$1,769,200

Other Fees

Type of Fee	Amount
Royalty	The greater of 6% of gross sales for each one-week period or $300 for each one-week period.
Advertising Fee	Up to 7% of gross sales, as determined by the franchisor.
Blue Line Purchases	Varies.
Caesar Vision System Annual Support Fee	Up to $3,750 per year per restaurant; currently $3,120 per year per restaurant.
Digital Transactions Fee	Up to $0.40 per transaction (currently $0.36). Plus, if applicable, a third party aggregator fee of up to $0.10 per transaction.
Security and Technology Fee	Up to $0.09 per credit or debit transaction (currently $0.06).
Delivery Fees – Orders via Little Caesars App or Website	Delivery fee – $3.99 Service fee – 12% of food and beverage order (maximum $4) Small order fee – $2.00 Late-to-Portal fee – $0.50 per late order
Delivery Fees – Orders via Third Party Apps or Websites	Service fee – up to 25% of food and beverage order, currently ranging from 18% to 22%.
Learning Management System Fee	Currently $260 per year per restaurant.
Data Fee	None currently.
Per Diem for Onsite Caesar Vision Support	Currently $2,000 per day per technician, plus travel expenses.
M.I.K.E System Connection Fees	None currently.
Restaurant Dashboard System Fee	$25 monthly.
Audit by Franchisor	The franchisor’s actual costs of audit (travel, lodging, wage expenses, and accounting and legal costs).
Follow-up Inspections	The franchisor’s actual costs, including travel expenses, meals, lodging, and compensation of its representatives.
Additional Trainees	Not more than $500 per attendee for initial training of additional employees.
Optional Training	Will vary based on length and type of training.
Transfer Fee	$5,000 per restaurant for a transfer that changes control of the franchisee or the restaurant. $1,000 per restaurant for a transfer that does not change control.
Renewal Fee	$5,000
Indemnification	Will vary with circumstances.
Special Marketing, Management, and Operational Assistance Performed at Franchisee’s Request	Reasonable fee plus expenses.
Post-refurbishment Grand Reopening Advertising and Promotion	$500 (the franchisor may increase the required amount annually by not more than 5% of the amount previously specified in the ORG).
Private Securities Offering	$25,000 plus additional sums to cover the franchisor’s out-of-pocket costs to review the materials if greater than $25,000.
Relocation Fee	$2,500
Interest	18% per year or the maximum rate permitted by law where the restaurant is located, whichever is less.
Late Fee	Up to $500 per occurrence for overdue amounts. For overdue financial statements, tax returns, or other required reports, up to $500 for each 30 days (or portion thereof) that the financial statement, tax return or other report is overdue.
Insufficient Funds Fee	Up to $50 per occurrence.
Missing Sales or Late Sales Reporting Fee	Up to $50 per occurrence.
Conference Fee Deposit	$2,500
Missed Meeting Fee	Varies.
Management Fee	Commercially reasonable fee, not to exceed 10% of net operating profit.
Liquidated Damages for Failing to Maintain Hours of Operation	$1,000 per day; may increase.
Liquidated Damages for Holding Over after Expiration	Calculated according to formula in FDD.
Liquidated Damages Upon Termination for Franchisee’s Default	Calculated according to formula in FDD.
Liquidated Damages - Failure to Comply with Post-Termination Obligations	$250 per day.
Enforcement Costs	Franchisor’s actual costs.
Dispute Costs and Legal Fees	Franchisor’s actual costs.
Reimbursement for Taxes	Franchisor’s actual costs.

The above information has been compiled from the FDD of Little Caesars. Year of FDD: 2026.
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