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Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise — is it worth it?
Medium risk Item 19 disclosed
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe is a quick-service restaurant franchise requiring an initial investment between $646,000 and $1,112,750.
Everything below is free, read straight off Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641369 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
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How much does a Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise make?
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe 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 $1,447,902 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 quick-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe 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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's 6% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,447,902 of revenue, a 6% royalty alone is about $86,874 a year before any other cost.
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe'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.
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe 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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe'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. Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's outlet tables did not machine-read cleanly; Item 20 of the source FDD has them.
Who owns Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe?
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's franchise is offered by Pickleman's 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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe 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.
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe — who is the franchisor?
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Pickleman's 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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise cost?
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $646,000 – $1,112,750 and a 6% 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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise make?
Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (6% of gross for Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe discloses is $1,447,902 in average unit revenue.
Does Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,447,902 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe?
No — Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe'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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe'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 Pickleman's Gourmet Cafe 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.