FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

OFFICIAL FILING · MN · 2026

A&W FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) — 2026

The FDD is the 23-item legal disclosure every U.S. franchisor must hand you at least 14 days before you sign or pay anything (FTC Franchise Rule, 16 CFR 436). A&W's most recent FDD tracked here was filed in 2026 as a multistate filing — and because registration-state filings are public records, you can read it free, without giving a broker your phone number.

Get the documentpublic record · PDF
Download the official FDD filing (free)

THE SAME DOCUMENT SITES SELL OR GATE BEHIND LEAD FORMS. FILED 2026 · SOURCE STATE MN

What the 2026 filing revealedextracted · sourced
ITEM 5Initial franchise fee$30K
ITEM 6Ongoing royalty5.0% of gross sales
ITEM 7Total initial investment$301K–$1.6M
ITEM 3Disclosed litigation matters0
ITEM 19Earnings disclosure (FPR)Yes — median unit volume $1.2M (Table I: n=59 franchised Freestanding Restaurants open & operating the entire 12 months of FY2025 that reported Net Sales (of 407 total franchised Restaurants as of 12/31/2025). Excludes 21 seasonal, 38 freestanding without drive-thru, 22 C&G without drive-thru, 199 Co-Brand, 16 Captive, and 2 company-owned units. 'Net Sales' = all revenue excl. local/state sales taxes. Mean $1,297,747 (25 units/42% met or beat); median $1,214,671; top (first) quartile of 14 units avg $1,964,064. Separately, Table II Reporting C&G Restaurants n=52 (mean $783,397, median $758,976). Not audited.)
ITEM 20Outlets (fiscal 2025)208 franchised at year end · 10 exits (4.7% annualized)
ITEM 21Franchisor financial statementsclean (unqualified) audit opinion — Dean Dorton Allen Ford, PLLC

Citation discipline: every figure above is extracted from the 2026 A&W FDD as filed and links back to that document. Fields the filing did not state are omitted — nothing here is estimated, surveyed, or filled in from marketing material. FDDs are reissued annually; verify against the current issuance before relying on any number.

A&W FDD questions, answered

Where can I download the A&W FDD for free?

A&W's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is a public record. It can be downloaded free from the source link on this page — no broker form, no email signup required.

What year is A&W's most recent FDD on file?

The most recent A&W FDD tracked here was filed in 2026. Franchisors must update their FDD annually, so confirm you are reading the current issuance before signing.

Does A&W's FDD disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — A&W makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD, reporting a median unit volume of $1.2M. Read the basis fine print: franchisors choose which units and metrics to include.

What does A&W's FDD Item 20 show?

In fiscal 2025, A&W ended with 208 franchised outlets; 10 of 213 open at the start of the year left the system — an annualized exit rate of 4.7% (terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons").

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