Verified — real FDD extraction
SBA-eligible · directory code S0261 since 2017
BRUEGGER'S BAGELS
Other · independent · est. —
Bruegger's Bagels is a bakery-cafe chain built around fresh-baked, kettle-boiled bagels, breakfast and lunch sandwiches, and coffee. A franchisee operates a counter-service cafe with daily in-store baking, serving strong morning traffic plus lunch and catering.
BRUEGGER'S BAGELS net unit count declined -6.6% from 2023–2025 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Showing strain
Distress
The disclosed record shows weakness — shrinking units, elevated exits, or churn — worth reading closely before going further.
Exit rate · latest year
6.3%
fiscal 2025, per Item 20
Cost to open
$694K–$1.2M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
13.3%
15 loans resolved — directional only
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 3 of 48 franchised outlets left the system — a 6.3% annualized exit rate. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 187 | 181 | 178 |
| Opened | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Transfers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Terminations | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Outlets at end | 181 | 178 | 169 |
| Net change | -6 | -3 | -9 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 23 SBA-backed loans to BRUEGGER'S BAGELS franchisees since 2001. Only 15 have resolved so far — too thin for a reliable default rate, but 2 of them charged off.
—
15 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$360,615
what recent franchisees borrowed
62 mo
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
0 vs 2
distinct banks — pulling back
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO BRUEGGER'S BAGELS BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL
The owner's side of the deal
FDD × federal loan record
Who finances it
the Huntington National Bank
17.4% of this brand's loans
That lender charges off 10.1% of its loans to other franchise brands, vs 14.8% nationally.
Who buys it
Too few identified operators
Does experience help here?
Not enough resolved loans to split
Computed from 23 SBA 7(a)/504 loans to BRUEGGER'S BAGELS franchisees joined to the brand's own FDD. Debt service assumes level amortization at the average disclosed term and rate. A lender's rate excludes its loans to this brand, so it reads the lender, not the brand.
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $35K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $694K–$1.2M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$694K–$1.2M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$35K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
5%
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$50K
5% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$500K
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for BRUEGGER'S BAGELS with an independent CPALabor record
US Dept. of Labor enforcement · franchisee-level · FY2005–present
Federal investigators have concluded 2 wage cases against operators of this system, recovering $1K in back wages for 3 workers. Some of these cases are recent, not ancient history. These cases name franchisee-owned locations, not the franchisor itself.
Concluded cases
2
Back wages owed
$1K
Employees affected
3
Since 2020
1
Read this carefully. The employers in these cases are individual BRUEGGER'S BAGELS franchisees — separately owned businesses operating under the brand name — not BRUEGGER'S BAGELS itself. The franchisor is not the respondent and in most cases is not a party. What the record shows is how this system's operators run their payrolls, which is worth knowing before you become one of them. Counts rise with system size and with age: a 20-year-old, 10,000-unit system will out-count a young one regardless of conduct. Source: DOL Wage and Hour Division concluded compliance actions, FY2005–present, most recent finding 2023.
Modeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
Modeled from the public record, this brand sits mid-pack: riskier than 72% of systems we score.
Risk percentile
72 / 100
Loan-corroborated
Modeled SBA charge-off
15.8%
Observed SBA charge-off
13.3%
Top drivers: System size (log units) (raises) · Investment ceiling (log) (lowers) · Net unit growth (raises) · Single-lender dependence (raises). 15+ resolved loans stand behind this estimate. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for BRUEGGER'S BAGELS. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing BRUEGGER'S BAGELS's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →BRUEGGER'S BAGELS franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of BRUEGGER'S BAGELS franchises closed last year?
In BRUEGGER'S BAGELS's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 3 of 48 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 6.3%. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a BRUEGGER'S BAGELS franchise cost?
Per BRUEGGER'S BAGELS's 2026 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $35K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $694K–$1.2M (Item 7).
What royalty does BRUEGGER'S BAGELS charge?
BRUEGGER'S BAGELS charges an ongoing royalty of 5.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2026 FDD.
Does BRUEGGER'S BAGELS disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — BRUEGGER'S BAGELS's 2026 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.