Sombrero Mexican Food franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Sombrero Mexican Food franchise takes $173,800 – $1,207,300 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $30,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Sombrero Mexican Food franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $30,000 | $30,000 | $30,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $173,800 | $1,207,300 | $173,800 to $1,207,300 | |
| 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) | $173,800 | $1,207,300 | $173,800 to $1,207,300 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Sombrero Mexican Food'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 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Sombrero Mexican Food cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Sombrero Mexican Food's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Sombrero Mexican Food's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $173,800 — about 38% below the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $30,000 — 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
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
How Sombrero Mexican Food's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2019: began the window at 8 units; 4 units opened, 1 closed, ending at 8 units. (partial records: 2016, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Sombrero Mexican Food 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 Sombrero Mexican Food 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 Sombrero Mexican Food 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 Sombrero Mexican Food 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 Sombrero Mexican Food 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 Sombrero Mexican Food franchise
Sombrero Mexican Food is a food & beverage franchisor with 8 units at the end of 2019 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2019, it began the window at 8 units; its filings record 4 unit openings and 1 closures, ending at 8 units (partial records: 2016, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only).
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
The franchises described in this disclosure document are for the operation of a SOMBRERO MEXICAN FOOD Restaurant.
Sombrero Mexican Food franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Sombrero Mexican Food franchise cost?
- $173,800 – $1,207,300 all-in to open, per Sombrero Mexican Food's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Sombrero Mexican Food units are there?
- 8 units at the end of 2019 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).