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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.
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Franchise Costs
4% royalty + 2.4% ad fund + approx. $1700-$2100/mo fixed fees
Financial Performance
Item 19 Financial Performance
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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Unlock financial performance dataHow GOLDEN CORRAL Compares
Key Insights
- Top 10 largest franchise system in Casual Dining
| Franchise | Investment | Fee | Royalty | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
GOLDEN CORRAL Current | $1.5M – $6.2M | $50K | 4.0% | 344 |
| IHOP & INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES | $1.8M – $4.5M | $69K | N/A | 1,703 |
| BUFFALO WILD WINGS | $2.5M – $4.9M | $25K | 5.0% | 549 |
| GOLDEN CORRAL STEAKS, BUFFET & BAKERY | $2.1M – $8.5M | $50K | 4.0% | 352 |
| ORIGINAL PANCAKE HOUSE (THE) | $483K – $1.7M | $60K | 2.0% | 150 |
| Outback Steakhouse | $4.3M – $9.0M | $40K | 5.0% | 122 |
Casual Dining Average 44 franchises | $1.5M – $3.5M | $44K | 4.7% | – |
* 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
+26 more states
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Unlock location growth dataSBA Loan History
Historical SBA 7(a) loan data for GOLDEN CORRAL franchisees (2010 – 2025)
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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Unlock SBA loan historyFranchisee Contacts
305 franchisee contacts on file from official FDD filings.
305 Contacts Available
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Unlock contactsDue Diligence
Litigation (Item 3)
Primarily termination disputes and fee collection matters related to a franchisee's default and abandonment of the franchise.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
System Health (Item 20)
Franchise system changes reported in the most recent fiscal year
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Unlock due diligence reportsFrequently 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.
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