Franchise Facts Report → brands → Buona
Buona franchise — is it worth it?
Low risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Buona is a quick-service restaurant franchise with a high initial investment ranging from $3.9M to $5.8M.
Everything below is free, read straight off Buona's registered filing. The $99 report is the part a single FDD can't give you: the earnings figures themselves, and where every number lands against quick-service restaurant peers.
The numbers above tell you what Buona discloses. The report tells you whether that's good:
- The earnings figures themselves — the average unit revenue Buona puts on paper in Item 19, and what it does and doesn't include.
- Where every number ranks — investment, fees, royalty, earnings and churn against quick-service restaurant median and quartile. This is the part no single FDD, and no AI reading one, can produce.
- What's driving the low risk read — the specific figures behind it, not the label.
- The litigation, split properly — each case, and which ones franchisees brought against the franchisor rather than the reverse.
- The questions to ask before you sign — drawn from what Buona's own filing leaves open, in the words to use on the call.
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Compare 3 brands — $249 See a sample reportFigures above are as disclosed in Buona's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641060 — check it yourself. The Item 19 figures, where each number ranks against peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
How much does a Buona franchise make?
Buona 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 average revenue Buona reports, what that figure does and doesn't include, and where it ranks against quick-service restaurant peers are in the full report. See every quick-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Buona 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 Buona's 4% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Buona franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Buona franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. The full report sets Buona's disclosed revenue against its total ongoing fee load, so you can see what that revenue has to cover before anything reaches you.
Buona lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Buona'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.
Buona closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Buona 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 Buona's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a quick-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. Buona's latest tables show a growing franchised network. The actual closure and termination counts, and how Buona's churn ranks against quick-service restaurant peers, are in the full report.
The Item 19 earnings figures, every number ranked against quick-service restaurant peers, and the litigation and churn detail — delivered instantly, yours to keep.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Who owns Buona?
Buona's franchise is offered by Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising 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.
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Buona 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.
Buona franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Buona — who is the franchisor?
Buona's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising 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 Buona franchise cost?
Buona's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $3,904,203 – $5,841,375, with an initial franchise fee of $40,000 and a 4% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against quick-service restaurant peers.
How much profit does a Buona franchise make?
Buona discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (4% of gross for Buona), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Buona franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The full report shows the disclosed revenue against the full ongoing fee load it has to cover.
Does Buona disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Buona reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The full report shows the actual revenue figures and how they rank against quick-service restaurant peers.
Are there lawsuits against Buona?
No — Buona'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 Buona a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Buona's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers, which is what the full report is for. Our read on this filing is low risk, stated free above. For $99 you get the figures driving that read, the actual Item 19 earnings (disclosed in this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
A Buona franchise is a $3,904,203 – $5,841,375 decision you make once, on a ten-year agreement, usually with a personal guarantee behind it. For $99 you get an independent read of the document that decides it: the actual Item 19 earnings, every figure ranked against quick-service restaurant peers, the litigation split into franchisee and corporate matters, the churn behind the outlet count — and the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign. If it tells you nothing new, reply within 14 days and we'll refund it.
Not useful? Reply to your delivery email within 14 days for a refund — no forms, no argument.
Compare 3 brands — $249Get a free email when something changes on Buona or quick-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 registries every report is built on.