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FRANCHISE RESALES

Buy a Red Robin Franchise

Red Robin is a casual dining restaurant chain built around customizable gourmet burgers, served alongside salads, appetizers, entrees, signature beverages and a broad selection of national and craft beers. Marketed as the “Gourmet Burger Authority,” it pairs its burgers with famous Bottomless Steak Fries® and targets middle-income, multi-generational guests in a casual, family-friendly setting.

Founded in 1969 in Seattle and trading today as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, the brand franchises through Red Robin International, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of publicly listed Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (NASDAQ: RRGB). It began franchising in 1979 and now operates around 475 restaurants across the United States and British Columbia, with the large majority company-owned and the rest run by franchisees.

The menu extends beyond burgers through a Donatos Pizza partnership at select locations, and the brand has invested heavily in off-premise sales via to-go, delivery and catering. Headquartered in the Denver metro area, Red Robin launched its First Choice Plan in 2025 and has signalled a refranchising strategy aimed at moving more company restaurants into franchisee hands.

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Why buy a Red Robin Franchise?

The chance to buy a Red Robin franchise means operating under a nationally recognised casual dining name with more than 50 years of history and a loyal, multi-generational following. The brand brings established operating systems, a recognisable menu built around its signature gourmet burgers, and national marketing behind a publicly listed parent company.

Franchisees can draw on multiple revenue channels: dine-in service, a growing off-premise business across delivery and catering, and added pizza sales through the Donatos partnership at participating sites. For prospective owners, Red Robin’s current refranchising push may create unusual access to acquiring established, operating restaurants rather than building new units from scratch in a mature, resilient casual dining category.

Red Robin Franchise Costs & Information

Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

  • Brand Profile

    • Year Founded

      1969

    • Franchising Since

      1979

    • New Startup Cost

      $2,705,000 – $5,785,000

    • Avg. Resale Price

      Contact us for details

  • Franchise Fees

    • Initial franchise Fee

      $35,000

      for new territories

    • Transfer Fee

      $10,000

    • Royalty Fee

      5%

      of Gross Sales

    • Marketing Fee

      4%

      of Gross Sales

  • Unit Performance

    • Total Units *

      498

    • New Units Opened *

      0

    • Units Transferred *

      0

    • Avg. Unit revenue *

      Not Disclosed

    * Based on 2024 data reported in the 2025 FDD

Red Robin – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    Red Robin supports franchisees with ongoing operational guidance, national and regional marketing programs, menu and beverage innovation, and access to proprietary systems including its Total Guest Experience hospitality model and the technology behind its off-premise ordering. Franchisees operate within the same brand standards and supply chain as company restaurants. Buyers of an existing Red Robin unit should confirm with the franchisor what onboarding and operating-system access transfers to incoming ownership and trained management.

  2. Ideal Owner

    The model suits experienced, hands-on restaurant operators comfortable running a full-service, high-volume kitchen and bar. Owners should be strong at managing large hourly teams, controlling food and labour costs, and delivering consistent guest hospitality across dine-in and off-premise channels. Given the scale of a casual dining operation, the brand favours well-capitalised operators with restaurant or hospitality management experience rather than first-time, single-site owners.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    Red Robin is one of the most established names in American casual dining, with more than 50 years of operating history and a publicly traded parent (NASDAQ: RRGB). It ranked No. 83 on Franchise Times' Top 500 Franchises list in 2022 and earned a VIBE Vista Award for Best Beer Program in a Multi-Unit Chain Restaurant in 2014. For resale buyers, this brand-level recognition should be weighed alongside the specific restaurant's local reviews, guest traffic and reputation in its market.

  4. Industry / Market

    The US full-service restaurant segment is a large, mature part of an industry the National Restaurant Association projected at roughly $1.5 trillion in total sales for 2025. Casual dining faces strong competition and shifting habits, with growth increasingly driven by off-premise channels such as delivery, takeout and catering. Burgers remain among the most popular menu categories in North America. For resale buyers, local demographics, traffic and competition shape an individual restaurant's results more than national trends.

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