Franchise Facts Report → brands → Buona

Buona franchise — is it worth it?

Low risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed

Buona is a quick-service restaurant franchise with a high initial investment ranging from $3.9M to $5.8M.

Everything below is free, read straight off Buona's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Buona against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.

Figures above are as disclosed in Buona's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641060 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.

How much does a Buona franchise make?

Buona is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure is $2,890,000 in average unit revenue — read it alongside what Item 19 says about which units it covers (often only mature or top-performing locations). See every quick-service restaurant brand that discloses earnings in the Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.

Buona franchise profit vs. revenue

Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Buona's 4% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Buona franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Buona franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $2,890,000 of revenue, a 4% royalty alone is about $115,600 a year before any other cost.

Buona lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)

Buona's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.

Buona closures & failure rate

Before you sign, Buona will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Buona's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a quick-service restaurant of this kind.

The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Buona's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Net franchised outlets moved +1 to 1 in the latest reported year.

Who owns Buona?

Buona's franchise is offered by Chicago's Original Italian Beef Franchising LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at WI DFI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.

Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level

Anyone weighing Buona is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.

Buona franchise — frequently asked