Wendy's Franchise Costs, Fees & FDD

Year Business Began: 1969

Franchising Since: 1972

Headquarters: Dublin, Ohio

Estimated Number of Units: 7,285

Franchise Description: The franchisor is Quality Is Our Recipe, LLC. One of the franchisor’s predecessors and intermediate corporate parents is Wendy's International, Inc. The Wendy’s Company is the ultimate corporate parent. Franchisees operate a quick-service restaurant which offers a limited menu of prepared to order food, including hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches, and complementary items.


Training Overview: Before the opening of the restaurant, franchisees (or, if the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, or other business entity, the operator for the restaurant as previously approved by the franchisor) and their initial management employees and restaurant crew must attend and complete, to the franchisor’s satisfaction, an initial training program. At the franchisor’s option, any management persons later employed by the franchisee must also attend and complete the training program, to the franchisor’s satisfaction. A typical initial training program will be approximately 12-16 weeks (approximately 540 - 660 total hours) in duration and will include online, classroom, virtual instructor led and on-the-job training. Training is conducted at various certified training restaurants throughout the United States. The franchisor also offers a new global franchisee onboarding program which franchisees (or, if the franchisee is a corporation, partnership, or other business entity, the operator for the restaurant as previously approved by the franchisor) must attend and complete. Franchisees will spend approximately 30-60 minutes with representatives of each designated function for their initial onboard meeting. The franchisor also offers and may require additional training programs.

Territory Granted: Franchisees will operate their Wendy’s Restaurant at a specific location approved by the franchisor and identified in the Franchise Agreement. Franchisees have no exclusive rights or territory associated with the operation of their Wendy’s restaurant.

Obligations and Restrictions: The franchisor strongly recommends that franchisees participate personally in the actual operation of the Wendy's restaurant. If the franchisee (or the managing and controlling partner or shareholder, if the franchisee is a partnership, corporation or other business entity) elects not to participate in the Wendy’s restaurant's day-to-day operations, an individual “operator” must be designated to supervise the Wendy’s restaurant's operation at all times. The operator must be approved by the franchisor, have the ability to operate and supervise the Wendy’s restaurant, satisfy the franchisor’s educational, managerial and business standards, and maintain an ownership interest as the franchisor may specify. Franchisees must use the Wendy’s restaurant premises solely for the operation of the franchised business, to keep the business open and in normal operation for those hours and days as the franchisor may specify, and to refrain from using or permitting the use of the premises for any other purpose without first obtaining the franchisor’s written consent. Franchisees also must operate the Wendy’s restaurant in strict conformity with those methods, standards, and specifications as specified in the manual or other writing.

Term of Agreement and Renewal: The length of the initial franchise term is 20-25 years (depending on lease term). The renewal term is for 10 years, if franchisees are in good standing and comply with renewal conditions.

Financial Assistance: On occasion, the franchisor and/or its affiliates cooperate with various lenders in the lenders’ efforts to provide financing to qualified franchisees for various purposes. The terms of financing offered by these lenders may vary depending upon many factors and, therefore, the financing terms must be discussed with the lenders directly. The franchisor and/or its affiliates may in some situations offer its own leasing programs to new or existing franchisees who are in full compliance with their obligations to the franchisor and its affiliates. As part of the disposition of certain company restaurants, the franchisor and/or its affiliates may lease or sublease a Wendy’s restaurant to a franchisee. In limited circumstances, the franchisor or its affiliates may offer deferrals, loans, waivers, setoffs and other forms of financial assistance in unique instances to existing franchisees.

Estimated Initial Investment

Name of Fee	Low	High
Initial Technical Assistance Fee	$50,000	$50,000
Building	$1,033,292	$2,200,000
Real Property	Varies
Equipment	$415,224	$547,581
Pre-Opening Expenses, Training Expenses, and Additional Operating Funds	$110,500	$192,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL: If franchisee pays cash for all expenditures (not including real estate)	$1,523,957	$2,992,000
ESTIMATED TOTAL: If franchisee finances the Technical Assistance Fee, Building and Equipment (not including real estate)	$393,191	$752,000

 
Other Fees

Type of Fee	Amount
Royalty	Varies between 4-6% of gross sales (depending on the type of restaurant and development program).
National Advertising	1.5% to 3.5% of gross sales.
Local and Regional Advertising	0.5% of gross sales.
Additional Training	Will vary under circumstances.
Transfer	$5,000 minimum, this amount increases based on number of affected restaurants.
Partial Transfer/Ownership Change	$2,500 minimum; this amount increases based on number of affected restaurants.
Consent to Collateral Assignment	$5,000 or $10,000 based on number of affected restaurants.
Renewal	An amount which is not greater than 25% of the then-current technical assistance fee.
Audit	Costs and expenses of audit, including travel, lodging, wages, accounting and legal costs, and interest on any understated amount.
Late Fee/Interest	$100 plus interest on the overdue amount from the date it was due until paid, at the (i) rate determined by the franchisor, or (ii) maximum legal rate, whichever is less.
Costs and Attorney’s Fees	Will vary.
Continuous Operations Fees	Upon unapproved early termination of the Franchise Agreement, the sum of the average monthly royalty fee and the average advertising contribution due under the agreement for the 12-month period prior to termination (or the average monthly royalty and the average advertising contribution due under the agreement if operating less than 12 months) multiplied by the lesser of (i) 36 or (ii) the number of months remaining on the term of the Franchise Agreement.
Development Agreement - Development Obligations Fee	Only applicable to development agreements. Upon failure to open restaurant in accordance with development schedule, $5,000 monthly payment beginning in the first month after required open date until earlier of (a) actual open date of restaurant and (b) 10 years from required open date of restaurant. Payment amount is $6,000 per month if the franchisee executes a New Groundbreaker Development Agreement; or $7,500 per month if the franchisee previously executed a Pacesetter Development Agreement.
Indemnification	Will vary.
Review of Proposed Offering Materials of Franchisee	$10,000 or a greater amount necessary to reimburse the franchisor for its legal, accounting, and other costs.
Technology Fee	$6,620 - $15,000 per restaurant per year.
Cyber Insurance Policy Premium Payment	A per restaurant fee of $889, which the amount is subject to change on an annual basis according to overall policy premiums, and within policy periods according to total systemwide restaurant counts.
In-App Delivery Account Settlement Services	A per-transaction fee of 3.0% of each in-app delivery transaction amount.
Customer Care	A per restaurant fee of $95 per month.
FSA Re-Assessment Visit Fee	$243.24 - $600
Rent	Varies.

The above information has been compiled from the FDD of Wendy's. Year of FDD: 2025.
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