Franchise Facts Report → brands → Black Bear Diner
Black Bear Diner franchise — is it worth it?
Low risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Black Bear Diner is a full-service restaurant franchise with a growing network and transparent financial disclosures.
Everything below is free, read straight off Black Bear Diner's registered filing, with where the numbers land against full-service restaurant peers. Weighing Black Bear Diner against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Black Bear Diner's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 640716 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Black Bear Diner? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Black Bear Diner will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Black Bear Diner franchise make?
Black Bear Diner is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $2,820,694 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every full-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Full-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Black Bear Diner franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Black Bear Diner's 4.5% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Black Bear Diner franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Black Bear Diner franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $2,820,694 of revenue, a 4.5% royalty alone is about $126,931 a year before any other cost.
Black Bear Diner lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Black Bear Diner's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
Black Bear Diner closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Black Bear Diner will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Black Bear Diner's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a full-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Black Bear Diner's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 2.2%, against a full-service restaurant median of 1% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +5 to 97 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Black Bear Diner?
Black Bear Diner's franchise is offered by BBDI LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Full-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Black Bear Diner is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Black Bear Diner franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Black Bear Diner — who is the franchisor?
Black Bear Diner's most recently filed FDD (2026) names BBDI LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Black Bear Diner franchise cost?
Black Bear Diner's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $1,495,700 – $2,238,600, with an initial franchise fee of $55,000 and a 4.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against full-service restaurant peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $1,392,100).
How much profit does a Black Bear Diner franchise make?
Black Bear Diner discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (4.5% of gross for Black Bear Diner), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Black Bear Diner franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Black Bear Diner discloses is $2,820,694 in average unit revenue.
Does Black Bear Diner disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Black Bear Diner reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $2,820,694 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Black Bear Diner?
No — Black Bear Diner's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Black Bear Diner a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Black Bear Diner's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against full-service restaurant peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is low risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Black Bear Diner or full-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.