California Tortilla franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a California Tortilla franchise takes $443,700 – $836,500 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $40,000 – $50,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. To qualify, California Tortilla asks for $250,000 in liquid cash and a $1,000,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
California Tortilla franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $40,000 | $50,000 | $40,000 to $50,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $443,700 | $836,500 | $443,700 to $836,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $443,700 | $836,500 | $443,700 to $836,500 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full California Tortilla cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How California Tortilla's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where California Tortilla's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $443,700 — about 1.6× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $40,000 — about in line with 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 California Tortilla's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2016: began the window at 32 units; 24 units opened, 11 closed, ending at 41 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for California Tortilla 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 California Tortilla 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 California Tortilla 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 California Tortilla 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 California Tortilla 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 California Tortilla franchise
California Tortilla is a food & beverage franchisor with 41 units at the end of 2016 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2016, it began the window at 32 units; its filings record 24 unit openings and 11 closures, ending at 41 units. Its parent company is California Tortilla Group, Inc..
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
At California Tortilla, we looked at the standards of common dining options and ‘re-imagined’ them from the inside out. So what does all of this "Re-Imagining" mean?
California Tortilla franchise: quick answers
- How much does a California Tortilla franchise cost?
- $443,700 – $836,500 all-in to open, per California Tortilla's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many California Tortilla units are there?
- 41 units at the end of 2016 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have California Tortilla's units held up?
- 84% of units at risk between 2014 and 2016 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).