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GOLDEN CORRAL

GOLDEN CORRAL

Golden Corral franchises family-oriented steakhouse and buffet-style restaurants featuring all-you-can-eat buffets with a wide variety of beef, pork, seafood, chicken, salads, vegetables, desserts from an in-store bakery, and other items for lunch, dinner, weekend breakfast, and snacks. The business model involves granting franchises for new builds (GC-11S or GC-11M designs), conversions, or area development rights, requiring strict adherence to operational standards and use of proprietary marks. It targets families and diners seeking moderately priced, casual buffet dining in free-standing buildings, urban, suburban, or rural locations.

344locations
$1476K–$6163K
Since 1986
Food & BeverageRaleigh, NCGolden Corral Corporationwww.goldencorral.netDisclaimer

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Franchise Costs

Franchise Fee
$50,000
Initial Investment
$1,475,950 – $6,162,930
Royalty Rate
4.00%
Brand Fund
2.40%
Fixed Monthly Fees
$1,700 – $2,100

4% royalty + 2.4% ad fund + approx. $1700-$2100/mo fixed fees

Financial Performance


Item 19 Financial Performance

Average Gross Revenue
$4,726,129.34
Median Gross Revenue
$4,478,969.69
Top Quartile Revenue
$7,429,329
Bottom Quartile Revenue
$2,984,496
Average Net Profit
$1,029,079.11

Data Based On: 315 franchised Restaurants in operation for the entire fiscal year 2025, divided into Metro (263), Small (50), and Non-Traditional (2) markets, as presented in Table 1.

* Calculated weighted average gross revenue for all 315 restaurants in Table 1: (263 Metro units × $4,923,317 + 50 Small units × $3,698,944 + 2 Non-Traditional units × $4,475,585) / 315 total units = $4,726,129.34. Calculated weighted average net profit (referred to as Average Operating Income) for all 315 restaurants in Table 1: (263 Metro units × $1,092,235 + 50 Small units × $701,427 + 2 Non-Traditional units × $915,382) / 315 total units = $1,029,079.11. Calculated weighted median gross revenue for Metro and Small markets (Non-Traditional median not available): (263 Metro units × $4,659,201 + 50 Small units × $3,530,953) / 313 total units = $4,478,969.69. Calculated weighted median operating income (net profit) for Metro and Small markets (Non-Traditional median not available, data from page 4): (263 Metro units × $957,393 + 50 Small units × $679,880) / 313 total units = $913,061.85. Revenue top quartile is the Average Gross Sales for the Top 20% of Metro market restaurants from Table 2: $7,429,329. Revenue bottom quartile is the Average Gross Sales for the Bottom 20% of Metro market restaurants from Table 2: $2,984,496. Best guess profit range was estimated by taking the weighted average operating income percentage (approx. 21.77% of gross revenue) and deducting a 4% royalty (explicitly mentioned in Note 2) plus an estimated 10-18% of gross revenue for other excluded expenses (land, building and/or equipment rent, debt service, depreciation, advertising, administrative expenses, taxes, licenses, or insurance) as per Note 2. Optimistic estimate: (21.77% - (4% + 10%)) × $4,726,129.34 = $367,220.25. Conservative estimate: (21.77% - (4% + 18%)) × $4,726,129.34 = -$10,870.10.

Extracted Item 19 Section

Avg. Revenue: $4,726,129

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How GOLDEN CORRAL Compares

Key Insights

  • Top 10 largest franchise system in Casual Dining
FranchiseInvestmentFeeRoyaltyLocations
GOLDEN CORRAL
Current
$1.5M – $6.2M$50K4.0%344
IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES$1.8M – $4.5M$69KN/A1,703
BUFFALO WILD WINGS$2.5M – $4.9M$25K5.0%549
GOLDEN CORRAL STEAKS, BUFFET & BAKERY$2.1M – $8.5M$50K4.0%352
ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE (THE)$483K – $1.7M$60K2.0%150
Outback Steakhouse$4.3M – $9.0M$40K5.0%122
Casual Dining Average
44 franchises
$1.5M – $3.5M$44K4.7%

* Comparison based on latest FDD filings. Investment ranges from Item 7, fees from Item 5. Showing top 5 of 44 Casual Dining franchises by location count.

Locations & Growth


Outlet Growth Over Time

Total outlets at end of each year

Geographic Distribution (2025)

Outlets by state across the United States

Top States
1TX
49
2FL
32
3NC
26
4CA
20
5GA
18
6IL
14
7VA
14
8OH
13
9IN
12
10MO
9
11SC
9
12KY
9
13LA
8
14TN
8
15AL
7

+26 more states

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SBA Loan History


Historical SBA 7(a) loan data for GOLDEN CORRAL franchisees (20102025)

Total Loans
135
Average Loan
$1,678,638
Total Volume
$226.6M
Default Rate
5.2%

Loans by Year

SBA 7(a) loan activity over time

* Data sourced from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records. Default rate calculated from charged-off loans.

135 SBA loans on record

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Franchisee Contacts

305 franchisee contacts on file from official FDD filings.

305 Contacts Available

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Due Diligence


Litigation (Item 3)

Franchisee Cases1

Primarily termination disputes and fee collection matters related to a franchisee's default and abandonment of the franchise.

Bankruptcy (Item 4)

Bankruptcy HistoryNo
No bankruptcy history reported

System Health (Item 20)

Franchise system changes reported in the most recent fiscal year

Terminations
6
Non-Renewals
1
Reacquired
0
Ceased Ops
0
Transfers
8
Sold to Franchisees
0
Projected New
3

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Frequently Asked Questions

The total initial investment to open a GOLDEN CORRAL franchise ranges from $1,475,950 to $6,162,930. This includes a franchise fee of $50,000. Ongoing royalty fees are 4.0% of gross sales.