Black Bear Diner franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Black Bear Diner franchise takes $1,495,700 – $2,238,600 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $55,000 – $155,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 4.5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. To qualify, Black Bear Diner asks for $40,000 in liquid cash. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Black Bear Diner franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $55,000 | $155,000 | $55,000 to $155,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $1,495,700 | $2,238,600 | $1,495,700 to $2,238,600 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $1,495,700 | $2,238,600 | $1,495,700 to $2,238,600 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Black Bear Diner's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 4.5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Black Bear Diner cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Black Bear Diner's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Black Bear Diner's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $1,495,700 — about 5.3× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $55,000 — about 1.6× the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How Black Bear Diner's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 37 units; 48 units opened, 6 closed, ending at 88 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Black Bear Diner or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Black Bear Diner for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Black Bear Diner is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Black Bear Diner grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Black Bear Diner can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Black Bear Diner franchise
Black Bear Diner is a food & beverage franchisor with 88 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 37 units; its filings record 48 unit openings and 6 closures, ending at 88 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is BBD Opco LLC.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
BBDI LLCgrants franchises for the operation offamily-style restaurantswhich offer signature entrees featuringhuge portions under the name Black Bear Diner
Black Bear Diner franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Black Bear Diner franchise cost?
- $1,495,700 – $2,238,600 all-in to open, per Black Bear Diner's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Black Bear Diner units are there?
- 88 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Black Bear Diner's units held up?
- 98.8% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).