Jimmy John's
Food & Beverage · Quick-Service Restaurants
- Active units
- 2,604
- Avg unit volume
- $978k
- Royalty
- 6.0%
Franchised, year-end 2023
of weekly Net Sales
About Jimmy John's
The franchise operates a brick-and-mortar model focusing on a streamlined menu of sandwiches featuring meats and vegetables sliced in-house daily. It serves a diverse customer base, including students and professionals, through walk-in service, drive-thrus, and delivery. The business structure is designed for operational efficiency with a focus on order fulfillment speed and catering. Most locations are independently owned and operated by franchisees.
Key terms
- Franchise fee
$35k
- New Restaurant Opening (NRO) and Select Developing Markets (SDM)
Credit up to $25,000 of initial franchise/development fee toward royalties if conditions met; reduced royalty and ad fund rates per Item 6 schedules.
- Early Opening Incentive
0% royalty from opening until required opening date (up to 12 months) if combined with NRO/SDM/Pioneer/VetFran and conditions met.
- VetFran Program
Royalty credit of $10,000 per compliant restaurant opened, up to $100,000 (no initial fee discount).
- Pioneer Incentive
First to sign DRA for 5+ units in specified states may receive $50,000 royalty credit for each of first 2 restaurants if conditions met.
- Brand fund
4.5% of Net Sales
- Local advertising
0.5% of Net Sales
- Footprint
1,000 – 1,800 sq ft
- Development Rights Agreement
$10k
- Veteran discount
Not offered
Brand Percentile Rankings
Rankings compare brands in the same operating year. Fee and investment figures come from the FDD (2026 filing); filings on file: 2024, 2025, 2026.
Growth
- Total locations—
Franchised units open at year-end
- New openings—
Gross new units opened during the calendar year
- 1-year unit growth rate—
Net unit growth versus prior year
- 3-year unit CAGR—
Compound annual growth rate of unit count over the trailing 3 years
- Unit growth ratio—
Cumulative opens / closures through year-end
Unit economics
- Annual unit volume (Median)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (25th percentile)$730k
AUV equals Gross Sales. Includes delivery/catering charges, business-interruption insurance proceeds, amounts received for relocation/closure, and gift/loyalty…
- Annual unit volume (75th percentile)$1.2M
AUV equals Gross Sales. Includes delivery/catering charges, business-interruption insurance proceeds, amounts received for relocation/closure, and gift/loyalty…
- 1-year Median AUV growth rate0.8%
Year-over-year change in median AUV
- Store-level EBITDA Margin—
Median unit-level EBITDA / AUV
Investment profile
- Estimated initial investment—
Midpoint of estimated initial investment range
- Time to open11 months
Midpoint of average time from agreement to opening
↓ Lower is better - Royalty rate6.0%
Percent of net sales paid to the franchisor
↓ Lower is better - Sales-to-investment ratio—
Median AUV / estimated initial investment midpoint
- Cash-on-cash returns—
Median unit-level EBITDA / estimated initial investment midpoint. Steady-state estimate; year 1 returns will be lower as the unit ramps to median volumes.
Franchisee healthLocked
- Unit closure ratio
- Transfer vs. closure ratio
- Percent multi-unit franchisees
- Litigation rate
- EBITDA multiple on sales & transfers
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Location footprint
Showing 588 of 1000 mapped locations
Sources
Financial and operating figures are sourced from the brand's Franchise Disclosure Documents. Brand percentile rankings are based on comparisons to other brands that include the same metrics in their Franchise Disclosure Documents.