Franchise Facts Report → brands → Potbelly Sandwich Shop
Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise — is it worth it?
Low risk Growing network Item 19 disclosed
Potbelly Sandwich Shop is a quick-service restaurant franchise with an investment range of $628,938 to $999,371.
Everything below is free, read straight off Potbelly Sandwich Shop's registered filing, with where the numbers land against quick-service restaurant peers. Weighing Potbelly Sandwich Shop against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Potbelly Sandwich Shop's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Wisconsin Dept. of Financial Institutions — Franchise Registration · filing 641233 — check it yourself. See every other Wisconsin-registered franchise.
Considering Potbelly Sandwich Shop? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Potbelly Sandwich Shop will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise make?
Potbelly Sandwich Shop 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 $1,344,085 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.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop 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 Potbelly Sandwich Shop's 6% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure. On $1,344,085 of revenue, a 6% royalty alone is about $80,645 a year before any other cost.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Potbelly Sandwich Shop'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.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Potbelly Sandwich Shop 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 Potbelly Sandwich Shop'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. Potbelly Sandwich Shop's latest tables show a growing franchised network. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 2%, against a quick-service restaurant median of 2.9% — at or better than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +20 to 122 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Potbelly Sandwich Shop?
Potbelly Sandwich Shop's franchise is offered by POTBELLY 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 Potbelly Sandwich Shop 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.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Potbelly Sandwich Shop — who is the franchisor?
Potbelly Sandwich Shop's most recently filed FDD (2026) names POTBELLY FRANCHISING, LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise cost?
Potbelly Sandwich Shop's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $628,938 – $999,371, with an initial franchise fee of $40,000 and a 6% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against quick-service restaurant peers it sits in the lower quartile (median $604,609).
How much profit does a Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise make?
Potbelly Sandwich Shop discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (6% of gross for Potbelly Sandwich Shop), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate. The headline figure Potbelly Sandwich Shop discloses is $1,344,085 in average unit revenue.
Does Potbelly Sandwich Shop disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Potbelly Sandwich Shop reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure is $1,344,085 in average unit revenue, as the franchisor states it.
Are there lawsuits against Potbelly Sandwich Shop?
No — Potbelly Sandwich Shop's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Potbelly Sandwich Shop a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Potbelly Sandwich Shop's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is low risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Potbelly Sandwich Shop or quick-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.