Del Taco franchise research

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Investment sourceFDD p.22 ↗

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$26,250 to $35,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

5% · 5% of net sales, payable monthly by EFT by the 15th of the month based on prior month's net sales (40% of net sales from games/devices); reduced to 1-4% ramping to 5% over 4 years under the Development Incentive Program for qualifying multi-unit developers

Marketing contribution

4% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

Technology Systems Support Services Fee: $173.81/restaurant/month for restaurants 1-5, $148.82/month for restaurants 6-10, $123.84/month for restaurant 11+, payable monthly in advance

Other fees

Ceridian Dayforce workforce system ($109.75/mo + $577.50/yr + $2,997.50 one-time clock); Del U E-Learning ($13.89/mo, moving to annual billing in June 2025); Digital Checklist ($50/mo)

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$28,000 to $65,000 estimated for the first 3 months of operation, covering payroll, taxes, food, paper, supplies, utilities, licenses, permits, bank charges, repair/maintenance and insurance; excludes advertising and royalty payments.

Fees sourceFDD p.18 ↗

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Investment sourceFDD p.22 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average/median/high/low gross sales for freestanding franchised and company-owned restaurants (FY2020-2024); company-owned average operating profit before rent & real estate taxes and detailed operating expense breakdown; same-store sales growth for franchised restaurants (FY2015-2024)

Reporting period

FY2020 through FY2024 (most recent FY ended September 29, 2024)

Sample

387 freestanding franchised restaurants open ≥12 months (of 444 freestanding franchised restaurants) for FY2024 sales data; 116 freestanding company-owned restaurants open ≥12 months for FY2024 operating profit data

Reported average

$1,613,899

Reported median

$1,541,335

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.47 ↗

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2024

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

421

Year-end outlets

461

Net change

+40

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

58

Terminations

0

Non-renewals

0

Other closures

9

Reacquisitions

9

Transfers

32

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

Unit growth sourceFDD p.54 ↗

SBA loan history

Loan activity

12 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$1,225,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

7 loans

Historical charge-off share

0.00%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

0 / 15

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Questions before you invest

How much does Del Taco franchise cost?

standard new-build restaurant (excludes land): $1,497,200 to $3,321,000; development agreement, minimum 2 restaurants (excludes land): $2,995,400 to $6,647,000; conversion restaurant (excludes land): $1,041,200 to $2,771,000 These are format-specific estimates, not a guaranteed cash requirement. Franchise fee: $26,250 to $35,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review..

Investment sourceFDD p.22 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

How much do Del Taco owners make?

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Item 19 metric: Average/median/high/low gross sales for freestanding franchised and company-owned restaurants (FY2020-2024); company-owned average operating profit before rent & real estate taxes and detailed operating expense breakdown; same-store sales growth for franchised restaurants (FY2015-2024). Sample: 387 freestanding franchised restaurants open ≥12 months (of 444 freestanding franchised restaurants) for FY2024 sales data; 116 freestanding company-owned restaurants open ≥12 months for FY2024 operating profit data. Period: FY2020 through FY2024 (most recent FY ended September 29, 2024).

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.47 ↗

What's the SBA charge-off rate for Del Taco?

0.00%; numerator / denominator: 0 / 15. Historical 7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals; CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100, snapshot 2026-06-30. This is not a franchise failure probability. Median SBA loan: $1,225,000; window: FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30; sample: 7 loans. Median financing is not total investment.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗