Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) franchise takes $688,000 – $1,143,000 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $57,000 – $97,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 5.5%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $57,000 | $97,000 | $57,000 to $97,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $688,000 | $1,143,000 | $688,000 to $1,143,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $688,000 | $1,143,000 | $688,000 to $1,143,000 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations)'s filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 5.5% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 20 years |
How Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations)'s cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations)'s disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $688,000 — about 2.4× the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $57,000 — 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
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) 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 Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) 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 Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) 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 Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) 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 Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) 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 Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) franchise
Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) is a food & beverage franchisor in our disclosure-filing dataset (as of 2026-05). Its parent company is CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc..
Litigation history not in our data for Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) — FDD Item 3 is the primary source to check directly.
From the franchisor's materials
The franchised business being offered is Hardee’s, quick service restaurants offering a limited menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner products.
Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations) franchise cost?
- $688,000 – $1,143,000 all-in to open, per Hardee's (Travel Centers Locations)'s franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).