Shopping Cart
No products in the cart.

Einstein Bros. Bagels Franchises: Costs & Profits (2023)

One of the most popular bagel franchise, Einstein Bros. Bagels has over 700 stores in the US. If you’re considering owning a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise yourself, you would need to prepare a business plan, and for that you’ll need to understand how much it costs and how much you can make with this business.

We found it costs on average $750,075 to open a new Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise, and it generates an average annual turnover of $885,011. Is this a good business? Let’s find out!

In this article we’re looking at Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises and their financial information disclosed in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document.

Key stats

Franchise fee$35,000
Royalty fee5.0%
Marketing fee4.0%
Investment (mid-point)$750,000
Average sales$928,000
Sales to investment ratio1.2x
Payback period6 years
Minimum net worth$1,000,000
Minimum liquid capital$536,500
Einstein Bros. Bagels business plan template

Einstein Bros. Bagels Franchise Business Plan

All the stats: startup costs, profits, breakeven, etc.

5-year financial projections built with the FDD

Excellent 4.8/5 based on 70 reviews

Excellent 4.8/5 based on 70 reviews

What is Einstein Bros. Bagels?

Einstein Bros. Bagels is an American restaurant chain that operates the country’s largest casual fast bagel franchise. The brand offers bagels, breakfast sandwiches, lunch sandwiches, coffee, catering items, and related foods.

It was founded in 1995 under the parent company, Boston Chicken (now Boston Market), in 2004 in Golden, Colorado. Headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado, Einstein Bros. Bagels is part of the Panera family, along with Panera Bread and Caribou coffee.

It started its franchising journey in 2006 and now has over 700 stores in 40 states in the US of which 53% are franchised-owned.

Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises pros and cons

Pros

  • Exclusive territory protection: Under its franchising agreement, the franchisor grants its franchisees the right to operate their businesses in a designated protected territory. It, therefore, does not grant any other franchises or operate a competing Einstein Bros. Bagels restaurant.
  • Extensive training: Einstein Bros. Bagels provides the franchisees with initial training about its business concept and industry. Franchisees receive four weeks of training on restaurant operations and management. The franchisees also get assistance with their restaurant’s grand opening and ongoing mentorship.
  • Franchise support: One of the reasons for starting an Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise is because the brand supports the franchisees to establish and run their restaurants smoothly and achieve growth and profitability. They provide them with industry experts as well as business ideas that work in the bagels industry and consultations on how to reduce costs, eliminate waste, and maximize revenues. 
  • Quality menu: The brand is well known for its freshly-baked bagels, available in various flavors. The brand is constantly introducing new bagels to keep up with market trends and serve a diverse customer audience. This gives the franchisees a competitive advantage over their competitors.
  • Universal supply chain. The brand emphasizes the quality of its ingredients and products. Franchisees are allowed to make online orders from the brand’s supply chain, which makes the process efficient and less costly without compromising the quality of supplies.
  • Multiple franchise formats: Einstein Bros. Bagels has several formats that the franchisees can choose to operate, giving them the flexibility to work within their budgets. The formats include company-owned, manufacturing and commissary, and franchise-owned segments.

Cons

  • No financing: The brand does not directly or indirectly finance its franchisees for development or ongoing costs. It also doesn’t guarantee any lease, obligation, or note from any lender.
  • Competition: Currently, many fast-casual restaurants are expanding their menus to include coffee items. Also, the market trends are changing, and the brand faces stiff competition from other chains with a bigger market share like McDonald’s.
  • Not a passive investment. The franchise is not a passive investment opportunity. Franchisees must be fully involved in the daily operations.

Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises: how much it costs

You have to invest around $750,000 to open a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise restaurant.

This is an average: the amount you would to pay to invest varies based on different factors such as the location of your restaurant, its size, whether you build from scratch or your retrofit an existing store, etc.

In addition to the initial franchise fee of $35,000 which you must pay to the franchisor, you would pay for the construction costs, furniture and fixtures, signage, equipment, professional fees, opening inventory, business licenses, etc.

There are 2 different types of startup costs when you open a new Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise: pre-opening costs and development costs.

Here’s the detailed breakdown of startup costs you can expect to pay:

Pre-opening costs

Type of ExpenditureAmount
Initial franchise fees$35,000
Real-estate leasing$25,000 – $56,250
Opening Inventory and supplies$15,000 – $25,000
Additional Funds 3 Months$12,000 – $50,000
Other$26,300 – $59,600
Total$113,300 – $225,850
Source: 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document

Development costs

Type of ExpenditureAmount
Construction costs$210,000 – $310,000
Furniture, fixtures and equipment$175,000 – $261,000
Signage and graphics$10,000 – $50,000
Professional fees$30,000 – $35,000
Other$26,000 – $54,000
Total$451,000 – $710,000
Source: 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document
Einstein Bros. Bagels business plan template

Einstein Bros. Bagels Franchise Business Plan

All the stats: startup costs, profits, breakeven, etc.

5-year financial projections built with the FDD

Excellent 4.8/5 based on 70 reviews

Excellent 4.8/5 based on 70 reviews

How much can you make with a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise?

On average, a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise makes $928,000 in sales per year

This number is the average of the franchised restaurants: drive thru ($964,996) and without drive thru restaurants ($791,695). This is also a significant increase of 25.4% year-on-year vs. 2020 ($705,836) mostly due to the pandemic: a good sign that business is back on track.

Note that these numbers have been calculated using 53 franchised-owned restaurants operating for all weeks of 2021. As such, it does not all franchised-owned restaurants, most of which have had their operations stopped for a few days or a few weeks due to the pandemic.

How profitable are Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises?

On average, a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise makes $273,554 profits per year. This corresponds to a 31% adjusted EBITDA margin. 

Einstein Bros. Bagels is a profitable franchise. Indeed, we found that 31% profit margin is higher than the average for similar restaurant franchises (25-27%).

We calculated this number using the information available in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document. Note that we used company-owned restaurants numbers instead as Einstein Bros. Bagels doesn’t disclose cost information for its franchise-owned restaurants (for example, cost of goods sold and labor costs)

Profit and lossAmount ($)% sales
Sales$885,011100%
COGS($228,333)25.8%
Labor($262,848)29.7%
Rent($40,625)4.6%
Royalty + marketing fees($79,651)9.0%
Adjusted EBITDA$273,55431.0%
Source: 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document

Are Einstein Bros. Bagels franchises good investments?

So should you buy a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise? Is this worth the $273,554 profits?

In order to answer that question, we need to look at the payback period: the time it takes on average to repay your investment.

We found that the payback period for a Einstein Bros. Angels franchise was 5.7 years on average. In other words, it would take you on average 6 years to repay the initial $750,075 investment cost.

This is a good payback period, and as such a good investment.

Do you want to own a Einstein Bros. Bagels franchise? Download our business plan template below to get pre-built 5-year financial projections, your breakeven point, return on investment and more.

Einstein Bros. Bagels business plan template

Einstein Bros. Bagels Franchise Business Plan

All the stats: startup costs, profits, breakeven, etc.

5-year financial projections built with the FDD

Excellent 4.8/5 based on 70 reviews

Excellent 4.8/5 based on 70 reviews

How does it compare vs. other franchises?

FranchiseInvestment ($)Sales ($)Payback (years)Min. net worth ($)Min. liquid capital ($)
Chick-Fil-Ahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/chick-fil-a-franchise-costs-profits/Chicken1,363,5104,227,4173.12.2--
Dunkin' Donutshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/dunkin-donuts-franchise-costs-profits/Donuts779,0001,056,5211.44.9500,000250,000
Domino'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/dominos-franchise-profits-costs/Pizza398,7251,286,4283.23.9250,00075,000
Krispy Kremehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/krispy-kreme-franchise-costs-profits/Donuts824,0003,400,0004.11.62,000,000300,000
Little Caesarshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/little-caesars-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza1,022,850798,1130.88.5350,000150,000
Wingstophttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/wingstop-franchise-costs-profits/Chicken631,6951,460,4592.32.91,200,000600,000
Steak 'n Shakehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/steak-n-shake-franchise-costs-profits/Burger, Milshakes815,6261,346,3321.74.01,500,000500,000
Crumbl Cookieshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/crumbl-cookie-franchise-cost-profits/Sweets507,2241,582,0903.12.1300,000150,000
Taco Bellhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/taco-bell-franchise-costs-profits/Mexican462,4131,650,0003.61.91,500,000750,000
Popeyeshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/popeyes-franchise-costs-profits/Chicken1,095,7831,444,6171.35.11,000,000500,000
Smoothie Kinghttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/smoothie-king-franchise-costs-profits/Smoothie688,108573,2690.88.0300,000100,000
Jersey Mike'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/jersey-mikes-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich574,3231,220,5862.14.7300,000100,000
Nothing Bundt Cakeshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/nothing-bundt-cakes-franchise-costs-profits/Sweets538,6501,307,2802.42.7600,000150,000
Jimmy John'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/jimmy-johns-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich513,650874,8451.73.9300,00080,000
Texas Roadhousehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/texas-roadhouse-franchise-costs-profits/Steakhouse4,209,5002,955,5340.79.5n.a.200,000
Kung Fu Teahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/kung-fu-tea-franchise-costs-profits/Bubble tea250,125353,2371.44.7n.a.25,000
Wendy’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/wendys-franchise-cost-profits/Burger1,374,8331,791,2311.35.11,000,000500,000
Burger Kinghttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/burger-king-franchise-costs-profits/Burger1,242,9501,215,9701.06.81,500,000500,000
Sonic Drive-Inhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/sonic-drive-in-franchise-costs-profits/Burger1,467,0831,617,0001.16.01,000,000500,000
Panera Breadhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/panera-bread-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich2,290,5002,599,4321.15.97,500,0003,000,000
Pizza Huthttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/pizza-hut-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza935,575906,9111.06.9700,000350,000
KFChttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/kfc-franchise-costs-profits/Chicken1,802,0501,567,4740.97.71,500,000750,000
Arby’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/arbys-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich1,184,9751,126,2631.07.01,000,000500,000
Dairy Queenhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/dairy-queen-franchise-costs-profits/Ice Cream1,404,2201,143,1800.88.2750,000400,000
Jack in the Boxhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/jack-in-the-box-franchise-costs-profits/Burger2,195,8001,755,5030.812.51,000,000250,000
Papa John’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/papa-johns-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza353,6951,101,1273.12.1750,000250,000
Zaxby’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/zaxbys-franchise-costs-profits/Chicken534,7502,229,1874.22.41,000,000500,000
Hardee’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/hardees-franchise-costs-profits/Burger1,759,0001,147,9750.710.21,000,000300,000
Culver’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/culvers-franchise-costs-profits/Burger4,044,5003,051,7620.88.82,000,000350,000
Five Guyshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/five-guys-franchise-costs-profits/Burger511,2251,203,3662.42.8500,000250,000
Carl’s Jr.https://sharpsheets.io/blog/carls-jr-franchise-costs-profits/Burger1,860,3351,419,5160.88.71,000,000500,000
Baskin-Robbinshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/baskin-robbins-franchise-costs-profits/Ice Cream465,100316,8150.79.8250,000125,000
IHOPhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/ihop-franchise-costs-profits/Pancakes2,058,3021,553,3110.88.81,500,000500,000
Applebee’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/applebees-franchise-costs-profits/Casual American5,137,9662,356,9650.514.51,000,000500,000
Denny'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/dennys-franchise-costs-profits/Casual American3,785,4591,639,5490.415.41,000,000500,000
Papa Murphy'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/papa-murphys-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza433,174580,4411.35.0275,000125,000
Auntie Anne'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/auntie-annes-franchise-costs-profits/Pretzels229,692343,1351.55.6300,000100,000
Firehouse Subshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/firehouse-subs-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich613,186888,3561.44.6350,000100,000
Tropical Smoothie Cafehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/tropical-smoothie-cafe-franchise-costs-profits/Smoothie430,500961,9692.23.0350,000125,000
Marco’s Pizzahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/marcos-pizza-franchises-costs-profits/Pizza437,625895,5232.03.3400,000100,000
Cinnabonhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/cinnabon-franchises-costs-profits/Sweets276,062394,8971.45.8300,000120,000
Cold Stone Creameryhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/cold-stone-creamery-franchise-costs-profits/Ice Cream310,956417,5881.35.0250,000100,000
Jambahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/jamba-franchise-costs-profits/Smoothie414,562597,0281.47.7300,000100,000
Church’s Chickenhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/churchs-texas-chicken-fees-sales-costs/Chicken1,195,1471,395,0881.25.71,000,000300,000
Moe’s Southwest Grillhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/moes-southwest-grill-franchises-costs-profits/Mexican792,3701,013,3611.35.21,000,000100,000
Tim Hortonshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/tim-hortons-franchises-costs-profits/Coffee1,242,7501,188,2401.07.0500,000100,000
Checkers & Rally'shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/checkers-franchises-profits-sales-costs/Burger837,8471,039,7731.25.4750,000250,000
Charleys Philly Steakshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/charleys-philly-steaks-costs-profits/Sandwich509,806786,2331.54.3500,000100,000
Buffalo Wild Wingshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/buffalo-wild-wings-costs-profits/Chicken3,546,9002,534,1480.79.31,500,000750,000
Rita's Icehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/ritas-ice-franchise-costs-profits/Ice Cream215,839248,3401.25.8300,000100,000
A&W Restaurantshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/aw-restaurants-franchises-costs-profits/Burger786,750851,2121.16.2350,000150,000
Hungry Howie’s Pizzahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/hungry-howies-pizza-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza419,682806,8991.93.5750,000200,000
Bojangleshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/bojangles-franchise-costs-profits/Chicken1,658,0001,801,0571.16.11,000,000500,000
McAlister’s Delihttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/mcalister-deli-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich1,424,9631,865,8611.35.11,000,000500,000
Round Table Pizzahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/round-table-pizza-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza783,2501,037,8161.35.0500,000200,000
Qdoba Mexican Eatshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/qdoba-mexican-eats-franchise-costs-profits/Mexican659,250972,9621.54.5
Freddy’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/freddys-franchise-costs-profits/Burger1,453,0401,792,9291.25.41,000,000400,000
Taco John’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/taco-johns-franchise-costs-profits/Mexican1,119,0001,124,9801.06.61,000,000400,000
Scooter’s Coffeehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/scooters-coffee-franchise-costs-profits/Coffee1,143,250797,1010.79.6500,000200,000
Einstein Bros. Bagelshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/einstein-bros-bagels-franchise-costs-profits/Sandwich750,075885,0111.25.71,000,000536,500
Great American Cookieshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/great-american-cookies-franchise-costs-profits/Sweets385,275452,7711.25.7250,000100,000
Wienerschnitzelhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/wienerschnitzel-franchise-costs-profits/Hot dogs873,300880,9801.06.6600,000250,000
Blaze Pizzahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/blaze-pizza-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza865,4501,096,4321.37.9500,000300,000
Wetzel's Pretzelshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/wetzels-pretzels-franchise-costs-profits/Pretzels377,571748,8572.03.4300,00050,000
Pizza Ranchhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/pizza-ranch-franchise-costs-profits/Pizza3,268,3001,174,0880.418.61,000,000297,000
Del Tacohttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/del-taco-franchise-costs-profits/Mexican1,406,8501,345,3411.07.02,000,000500,000
Schlotzsky’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/schlotzskys-franchises-costs-profits/Healthy, Salads1,102,9331,053,3330.322.21,000,000300,000
Captain D’shttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/captain-ds-franchise-profits-costs/Seafood982,7781,067,8160.419.01,000,000350,000
Biggby Coffeehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/biggby-coffee-franchise-profits-costs/Coffee310,575648,3520.320.0300,000100,000
Which Wichhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/which-wich-franchises-profits-costs/Sandwich330,375281,8860.322.2500,000150,000
Marble Slab Creameryhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/marble-slab-franchises-costs-profits/Ice Cream407,360251,0520.416.7250,000100,000
Mountain Mike's Pizzahttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/mountain-mikes-franchise-profits-costs/Pizza410,900865,7130.320.0300,000100,000
Huddle Househttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/huddle-house-franchise-cost-profits/Diner988,743712,4280.513.3600,000300,000
L&L Hawaiian Barbecuehttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/ll-hawaiian-barbecue-franchises-costs-profits/BBQ334,350612,9210.333.3500,000150,000
Chicken Salad Chickhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/chicken-salad-chick-franchises-costs-profits/Healthy, Salads651,0001,202,0200.320.0750,000250,000
Golden Chickhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/golden-chick-franchises-costs-profits/Chicken362,975917,6092.52.62,000,000425,000
Perkinshttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/perkins-franchise-costs-profits/Diner1,922,7281,729,2460.97.41,500,000500,000
Waba Grillhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/waba-grill-franchises-costs-profits/Teryaki454,000466,5361.06.51,000,000250,000
Bruster’s Ice Creamhttps://sharpsheets.io/blog/brusters-franchises-profits-costs/Ice Cream663,925466,6960.79.5375,000150,000

Disclaimer: This content has been made for informational and educational purposes only. We do not make any representation or warranties with respect to the accuracy, applicability, fitness, or completeness of the information presented in the article. You should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other professional advice. Nothing contained in this article constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, advertisement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction.

All content in this article is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the article constitutes professional and/or financial and/or legal advice, nor does any information in the article constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other content in this article before making any decisions based on such information or other content.