Franchise Facts Report → brands → Kelly's Cajun Grill
Kelly's Cajun Grill franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Shrinking network
Kelly's Cajun Grill is a quick-service restaurant concept requiring an initial investment between $295,000 and $1,403,500.
Everything below is free, read straight off Kelly's Cajun Grill's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Kelly's Cajun Grill against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Kelly's Cajun Grill's most recent FDD (registered 2024). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-30658 — check it yourself. See every other California-registered franchise.
Considering Kelly's Cajun Grill? 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. Kelly's Cajun Grill will be on it if it fits.
Kelly's Cajun Grill franchise profit — what the FDD discloses
Plainly: Kelly's Cajun Grill does not disclose franchise profit or revenue. Its most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-backed earnings figure for Kelly's Cajun Grill — any number quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure. The absence is itself worth weighing (56% of quick-service restaurant franchisors in our corpus do disclose); the fees, litigation and outlet churn Kelly's Cajun Grill's FDD does contain are on this page. For brands that put earnings on paper, see Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings.
Kelly's Cajun Grill lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Kelly's Cajun Grill's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024) 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.
Kelly's Cajun Grill closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Kelly's Cajun Grill 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 Kelly's Cajun Grill'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. Kelly's Cajun Grill's latest tables show a shrinking franchised network — more units left than opened. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 6.7%, against a quick-service restaurant median of 2.9% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved -1 to 14 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Kelly's Cajun Grill?
Kelly's Cajun Grill's franchise is offered by Kelly's Cajun Grill Franchise Corporation — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Kelly's Cajun Grill 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.
Kelly's Cajun Grill franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Kelly's Cajun Grill — who is the franchisor?
Kelly's Cajun Grill's most recently filed FDD (2024) names Kelly's Cajun Grill Franchise Corporation 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 Kelly's Cajun Grill franchise cost?
Kelly's Cajun Grill's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $295,000 – $1,403,500, with an initial franchise fee of $30,000 and a 5.75% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against quick-service restaurant peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $604,609).
How much profit does a Kelly's Cajun Grill franchise make?
Kelly's Cajun Grill makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-disclosed revenue or profit figure for Kelly's Cajun Grill at all — and profit would never be disclosed even where earnings are, because it depends on your rent, labor and how you operate. Any profit figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
Does Kelly's Cajun Grill disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
No — Kelly's Cajun Grill's most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Its absence is worth weighing: 56% of quick-service restaurant franchisors in our corpus do disclose.
Are there lawsuits against Kelly's Cajun Grill?
No — Kelly's Cajun Grill's most recently filed FDD (2024) 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 Kelly's Cajun Grill a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Kelly's Cajun Grill's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is medium 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 Kelly's Cajun Grill 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 state registries this page is built on.