Franchises · 2026 FDD · Wisconsin DFI filing 641231
Panera Bread franchise cost, unit revenue and closures
Opening a Panera Bread cost $1,337,139 to $4,569,880 in the 2026 FDD; the franchisor's revenue disclosure has no single unit figure; 7.0% of franchised units closed over three years.
Franchisor: Panera, LLC. FDD issued 2026-04-23. Fiscal year end 2025-12-30. Figures re-found on the cited page 2026-11-04.
What a unit costs to open
Core Bakery-Cafe in a non-urban market, excluding real estate and landlord allowances; a Small Box Bakery-Cafe totals $1,173,702 to $3,572,359 and a Non-Traditional Location $498,306 to $2,518,186.
What a unit pays the franchisor
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | Item 5, p. 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | Royalty 5% of Net Sales, each weekly Reporting Period | Item 6, p. 8 |
| Advertising fund | National Advertising Fund 4% of Net Sales (2.6% for Non-Traditional), plus a 0.4% Marketing Administration Fee and 2.0% Local Advertising Funds | Item 6, p. 8 |
Core or Small Box Bakery-Cafe without an Area Development Agreement; $25,000 for a Non-Traditional Bakery-Cafe; fees collected in fiscal 2025 ranged from $12,500 to $35,000.
What a unit sells
Item 19 is optional and is the franchisor's own representation. It is shown here as filed, with the franchisor's measure, sample and period, and nothing is estimated where it is missing.
Item 19 present, no single unit figure. average Net Sales, 52-week fiscal 2025 ended 2025-12-30, franchisee-owned Bakery-Cafes (Statement of Average Net Sales); no median is printed (Item 19, p. 55, 56).
Sample: 1,073 franchisee-owned Bakery-Cafes open the entire fiscal year; the 1,087 company-owned Bakery-Cafes averaged $2,680,192 (494, or 45.4%, at or above) and a gross profit and EBITDA statement is given for company-owned cafes only. Period: fiscal 2025, 52 weeks ended 2025-12-30.
Revenue to investment
Undefined: Item 19 prints an average but no median.
How many units open and close
| Franchised units | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of year | 1,089 | 1,113 | 1,105 |
| Opened | 47 | 24 | 33 |
| Terminated | 12 | 18 | 32 |
| Not renewed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Ceased, other reasons | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| End of year | 1,113 | 1,105 | 1,106 |
| Company-owned, end of year | 1,038 | 1,080 | 1,108 |
Item 20, Table 1 p. 57; Table 3 totals p. 63.
Closures are the franchisor's Item 20 counts of units terminated, not renewed, or ceased for other reasons, summed over 2023–2025 and divided by franchised units at the start of 2023. Units the franchisor reacquired are not closures. This is an Item 20 count, not a failure rate.
fiscal years ended 2023-12-26, 2024-12-31 and 2025-12-30; includes non-traditional locations.
Source and method
Every figure above comes from the Panera Bread Franchise Disclosure Document issued 2026-04-23, as filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions (filing 641231, registry record). The PDF is the franchisor's and is not hosted here; the item and page beside each figure is where to check it. Item 7 and Item 20 tables were read cell by cell; Item 19 was read by hand; each Item 20 year was checked to sum (start + opened − exits = end) before it was recorded.
Panera franchises through Area Development Agreements and operates about half the system itself. Item 19 prints an average and range for franchised bakery-cafes but no median..
Informational only, not professional, legal or investment advice. Unitnomics computes from the filing and does not advise on, rank, or refer to any franchise. Last reviewed: November 2026.