Wahoo's Fish Taco franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Wahoo's Fish Taco franchise takes $546,500 – $822,500 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $40,000 – $70,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. To qualify, Wahoo's Fish Taco asks for $30,000 in liquid cash. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Wahoo's Fish Taco franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $40,000 | $70,000 | $40,000 to $70,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $546,500 | $822,500 | $546,500 to $822,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $30,000 | $30,000 | $30,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $546,500 | $822,500 | $546,500 to $822,500 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Wahoo's Fish Taco'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 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Wahoo's Fish Taco cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Wahoo's Fish Taco's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Wahoo's Fish Taco's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $546,500 — about 1.9× 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2020: began the window at 31 units; 18 units opened, 15 closed, ending at 28 units. (partial records: 2016, 2017, 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco 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 Wahoo's Fish Taco franchise
Wahoo's Fish Taco is a food & beverage franchisor with 28 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2020, it began the window at 31 units; its filings record 18 unit openings and 15 closures, ending at 28 units (partial records: 2016, 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only).
Disclosure filings report 1 franchise-related lawsuit. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
The franchise is for on-premises dining and carry-out foods featuring freshly-cooked fish tacos, a variety of additional tacos and burritos, charbroiled fish and chicken, steak and pork sandwiches, salads, ahi rice, black and cajun white beans, appetizers, desserts and related food and beverage items, and beer and wine (where available).
Wahoo's Fish Taco franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Wahoo's Fish Taco franchise cost?
- $546,500 – $822,500 all-in to open, per Wahoo's Fish Taco's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Wahoo's Fish Taco units are there?
- 28 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).