The 10 Best Breakfast Style Restaurant Franchises of 2025

The U.S. breakfast restaurant market continues to thrive, projected to reach $57 billion by 2027, fueled by the growing demand for all-day breakfast options.
With over 80% of Americans eating breakfast regularly, investing in a breakfast-style franchise offers a promising business opportunity.
In this guide, we’ll explore the top breakfast-style franchises, highlighting their initial investment costs, average unit volume (AUV), and key details to help you make an informed decision.
The 10 Best Breakfast Style Restaurant Franchises of 2025
Franchise | Franchising Since | Locations* | Initial Investment | Revenue (AUV) |
---|---|---|---|---|
IHOP | 1960 | 1,658 | $381,000 – $4,376,000 | $1,972,000 |
Denny’s | 1963 | 1,412 | $305,000 – $2,327,000 | $1,667,000 |
Tim Hortons | 1965 | 642 | $124,000 – $2,138,000 | $1,157,000 |
Huddle House | 1966 | 242 | $558,000 – $1,443,000 | $732,000 |
Perkins | 1958 | 189 | $1,184,000 – $3,290,000 | $1,812,000 |
Black Bear Diner | 2002 | 85 | $1,505,000 – $2,059,000 | $2,681,000 |
Eggs Up Grill | 2005 | 58 | $611,000 – $935,000 | $1,103,000 |
Another Broken Egg Cafe | 2005 | 45 | $847,000 – $1,226,000 | $2,014,000 |
Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner | 1982 | 12 | $741,000 – $3,375,000 | $2,700,000 |
Scramblers | 2005 | 15 | $450,000 – $860,000 | $918,000 |
Another Broken Egg Cafe
Franchising Since: 2005
Franchised Units: 45
Initial Investment: $847,000 to $1,226,000
Franchise Fee: $40,000
Royalty Fee: 5.00%
Revenue: $2,014,000
Another Broken Egg Cafe is a chain of breakfast, brunch, and lunch restaurants based in Orlando, Florida. It specializes in Southern-inspired menu options and signature cocktails.
Another Broken Egg Cafe was founded in 1996 by Ron Green, who opened the first “Broken Egg Cafe” in a delightful French country atmosphere, featuring friendly and outgoing service and a menu of exceptional dishes. It began franchising in 2005, and by the end of 2022, it had opened 45 franchises and 37 company-owned locations in the US.
Another Broken Egg Cafe has positioned itself as the largest actively franchising brand in the daytime-only sector, offers promising opportunities with strong AUVs, and aims to reach 100 locations by the end of 2024.
Black Bear Diner
Franchising Since: 2002
Franchised Units: 85
Initial Investment: $1,505,000 to $2,059,000
Franchise Fee: $55,000
Royalty Fee: 4.50%
Revenue: $2,681,000
Black Bear Diner is an American restaurant chain known for its “home-style” and “old-fashioned” comfort foods. It is headquartered in Redding, California.
The chain was founded by Bruce Dean and Bob & Laurie Manley in Mount Shasta, California.
It serves burgers, salads, eggs, bacon, sandwiches, shakes, and a variety of pies. Black Bear Diner started franchising in 2002 and has more than 140 restaurants in 14 US states.
Denny’s
Franchising Since: 1963
Franchised Units: 1,412
Initial Investment: $305,000 - $2,327,000
Franchise Fee: $30,000
Royalty Fee: 4.50% - 7.0%
Revenue: $1,667,000
Denny’s is an American restaurant chain best known for its table-service diner style, with over 1,700 stores in the US and 14 other countries.
Denny’s was founded in 1953 by Harold Butler and Richard Jezak, who opened the first restaurant in Lakewood, California.
Originally, Denny’s opened as a coffee shop known as Danny’s Donuts. It then changed to Denny’s Coffee and later Denny’s, a name by which it is still known to date.
It serves mainly delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner items.
Denny’s franchising journey started in 1963 and is operated by its parent company, Denny’s Inc., headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and today over 97% of its restaurants are franchise-owned.
Eggs Up Grill
Franchising Since: 2005
Franchised Units: 58
Initial Investment: $611,000 to $935,000
Franchise Fee: $45,000
Royalty Fee: 5.00%
Revenue: $1,103,000
Eggs Up Grill is a fast food chain that offers breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. The company was founded in 1997 by Chris Skodras in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.
Today, Eggs Up Grill is a leading concept in the breakfast, brunch, and dinner industries, offering freshly made and tasty foods, warm hospitality, and warm service through dining, takeout, and catering options.
Eggs Up Grill began franchising in 2005 and currently has 57 locations in the US, 56 of which are franchised. WJ Partners’ ownership, headquartered in Spartanburg, SC, is the current owner of Eggs Up Grill after purchasing the rights from the founder in 2018.
Based on strong unit-level economics, a smart brand-building growth strategy, and its “neighbors serving neighbors” positioning, Eggs Up Grill is rapidly primed to grow into more communities as it continues with its plans to reach the 100-restaurant mark by 2023.
Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner / Egg N’ Joe
Franchising Since: 1982
Franchised Units: 12
Initial Investment: $741,000 to $3,375,000
Franchise Fee: $40,000
Royalty Fee: 4.00%
Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner/Egg N’ Joe is a breakfast and lunch restaurant chain headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Its menu also includes dinner options and other food items and beverages. In 2016, it introduced the Egg N’ Joe portion of the restaurant.
Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner / Egg N’ Joe was founded in 1960 in Portland, Oregon, by Walt and Dorothy Elmer.
The restaurant was built on its proprietary Walt’s buttermilk pancake recipe, named Elmer’s Breakfast Lunch Dinner / Egg N’ Joe, and has grown into a successful family-owned and operated restaurant franchise committed to bringing people together for home-style cooking using only the finest ingredients.
Elmers began franchising in 1966 and had opened 28 locations by 2021, 14 of which were franchises in the US.
Huddle House
Franchising Since: 1966
Franchised Units: 242
Initial Investment: $558,000 to $1,443,000
Franchise Fee: $35,000
Royalty Fee: 4.75%
Revenue: $732,000
Huddle House is an American casual dining chain synonymous with Southern hospitality. It was founded in 1964 by John Sparks in Decatur, Georgia, and its concept is a 24-hour eatery.
The brand offers a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner offerings, such as waffles, bacon, southern chicken, mashed potatoes, prime ribs, and specialty burgers.
It began franchising in 1966 and today has more than 300 locations in the US and is owned by Ascent Hospitality Management, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
IHOP
Franchising Since: 1960
Franchised Units: 1,658
Initial Investment: $381,000 to $4,376,000
Franchise Fee: $50,000
Royalty Fee: 4.50%
Revenue: $1,972,000
IHOP (short for “International House of Pancakes”) is an American chain restaurant that focuses on pancakes. It has locations in the Americas, the Middle East, and South Asia.
It was founded in 1958 by Jerry Lapin, Al Lapin, and Albert Kallis, and its first location was in Los Angeles, California.
IHOP serves mainly breakfast foods such as pancakes, waffles, French toast, and omelets. Also, it offers lunch and dinner menu items such as sandwiches, salads, and burgers.
The IHOP franchising journey began in 1960. It is operated by the International House of Pancakes, LLC, and is owned by Dine Brands Global, headquartered in Glendale, California.
It now has over 1,800 locations in the United States and around the world. The vast majority of IHOP restaurants are franchises (99%).
Perkins
Franchising Since: 1958
Franchised Units: 189
Initial Investment: $1,184,000 to $3,290,000
Franchise Fee: $40,000
Royalty Fee: 4.00%
Revenue: $1,812,000
Perkins is an American casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1958 by Matt and Ivan Perkins in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is now headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
The chain serves pancake and waffle options, American staples like breakfast all day, hearty steak plates, juicy burgers, and a wide selection of handcrafted handhelds, soups, salads, pies, and muffins.
Its franchising journey began in 1965, and now it has more than 300 company-owned and franchised stores in 32 US states and two provinces in Canada.
Scramblers
Franchising Since: 2005
Franchised Units: 15
Initial Investment: $450,000 to $860,000
Franchise Fee: $40,000
Royalty Fee: 4.00%
Revenue: $918,000
Scramblers is a family-owned restaurant concept headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. It focuses on serving only high-quality, delicious breakfast and lunch menu offerings such as breakfast plates, omelets, griddles, salads, sandwiches, and more.
Scramblers was founded in 1989, began franchising in 2005, and had opened 14 franchises and 12 company-owned locations in the US by the end of 2021.
Through its growth, Scramblers has developed into one of the leading breakfast franchises in the industry, with a more modern restaurant design and an updated menu. Scramblers offers franchise owners an opportunity to build a better business and a better lifestyle, driven by its family-oriented ambiance.
Tim Hortons
Franchising Since: 1965
Franchised Units: 642
Initial Investment: $124,000 to $2,138,000
Franchise Fee: $25,000 to $50,000
Royalty Fee: 4.5% to 6%
Revenue: $1,157,000
Tim Hortons is a leading Canadian restaurant chain founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, its menu is synonymous with coffee, doughnuts, baked goods, soups, and sandwiches.
It was founded by Canadian ice hockey defenseman, Tim Horton, and Montreal-born businessman, Jim Charade. One year later, in 1965, Tim Hortons began to franchise its coffee shops.
Wendy’s, an American fast-food restaurant chain, acquired Tim Hortons in 1995 in a partnership that lasted a decade. In 2014, 3G Capital, a Brazilian private equity firm, purchased the Canadian fast food chain.
Today, Tim Hortons has 5,352 locations in 15 countries around the world.
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