There is no Chipotle franchise for sale in the United States: Chipotle’s 10-K for 2025 counts 3,938 U.S. restaurants, all company-owned, and its only outside operators run 14 partner-operated restaurants abroad.
Key takeaways
- Chipotle Mexican Grill owned 3,938 U.S. and 104 international restaurants on December 31, 2025, and had 14 international partner-operated restaurants, according to its 2025 Form 10-K.
- Chipotle did franchise once: its 10-K for 2006 listed 8 franchised restaurants, and the company bought the last 4 on April 30, 2007, for $3.2 million (10-K for 2007).
- No Chipotle disclosure document is on file: a search of Minnesota’s CARDS franchise registry for “chipotle” returned 0 filings on October 27, 2026, while the same search for QDOBA returned 3.
- The only Chipotle-sourced build number is internal: about $1.5 million in average development and construction cost per new restaurant in 2025, or about $1.3 million after $0.2 million in landlord reimbursements (2025 10-K, Item 7).
- Six made-to-order fast-casual brands that do franchise print Item 7 totals from $371,400 (Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill, low) to $1,968,450 (Moe's Southwest Grill, high) in disclosure documents issued between April 2025 and April 2026.
Can you buy a Chipotle franchise in the United States?
No. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. sells no U.S. franchises and has no franchise disclosure document on file. Its Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, filed with the SEC on February 4, 2026, calls the company one of the largest restaurant companies “that owns and operates all our restaurants in the U.S. and Canada,” and every U.S. unit in its count is company-owned.
The restaurant count sits in Item 1 of that filing, in these words:
“As of December 31, 2025, we owned 3,938 Chipotle restaurants throughout the United States (“U.S.”) and 104 international Chipotle restaurants. [A]dditionally, we had 14 international partner-operated restaurants. Partner-operated restaurants represent Chipotle restaurants over which Chipotle does not have a controlling financial interest and for which Chipotle does not directly manage day-to-day operations. This includes restaurants operated by third parties pursuant to license or franchise agreements and restaurants in which Chipotle holds a minority, non-controlling ownership interest.”
The last sentence carries the nuance most pages skip. “Partner-operated” is an umbrella that can include franchise agreements, but all 14 such restaurants were outside the United States. A year earlier the 10-K for 2024 used a narrower label for the same layer: “three international licensed restaurants.”
| Restaurant type | Dec 31, 2024 | Dec 31, 2025 | Jun 30, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. company-owned | 3,644 | 3,938 | 4,074 |
| International company-owned (Canada, U.K., France, Germany) | 82 | 104 | 112 |
| International partner-operated | 3 (labelled “licensed”) | 14 | 15 |
| U.S. franchised | none | none | none |
| Company-owned openings in the period | 304 | 334 | 149 (first half) |
| Partner-operated openings in the period | 3 | 11 | 1 (first half) |
Counts from the 10-K for 2024, the 10-K for 2025 and the 10-Q for the quarter to June 30, 2026. “None” reflects the ownership statements in Item 1A of both annual reports. Partner-operated units were 0.3% of the 4,056 restaurants carrying the Chipotle name at the end of 2025 (14 divided by 4,056).
Five Chipotle franchise claims, checked against the filings
Pages ranking for this search tend to repeat the 5 claims below. Chipotle’s own filings, from the 10-K for 2005 through the 10-Q for June 30, 2026, settle each one, and the table pairs every claim with the line a reader can open and check. Two claims are wrong, 2 are out of date and 1 is an unsourced number.
| Claim as published elsewhere | What the primary source says | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| “Chipotle has never franchised.” | The 10-K for 2005 reports “eight restaurants operated by franchisees” beside 481 company-operated units. | 10-K for 2005, Item 1 |
| “Chipotle franchised until 2006.” (a lender guide updated March 2024) | 8 franchised restaurants were still open on December 31, 2006. Chipotle bought 4 in March 2007 and the last 4 on April 30, 2007. | 10-K for 2006, Item 2; 10-K for 2007 |
| “Chipotle runs every restaurant itself, worldwide.” | 14 international partner-operated restaurants existed on December 31, 2025, a group that includes units under “license or franchise agreements.” | 10-K for 2025, Item 1 |
| “A Qdoba franchise costs $251,500 to $1,095,000.” (same lender guide) | QDOBA’s disclosure document issued December 9, 2025 lists $548,100 to $1,294,000 for a traditional restaurant and $234,500 to $898,000 for a non-traditional one. | QDOBA FDD, Item 7 |
| “A Chipotle franchise costs about $1.4 million.” | No Chipotle Item 7 exists. The 10-K reports about $1.5 million in average development and construction cost per new company restaurant in 2025. | 10-K for 2025, Item 7 |
The 2007 buyback matters for anyone hoping to buy an existing unit: there have been no U.S. Chipotle franchisees to sell one since April 30, 2007. A different case is Chick-fil-A, which does publish a disclosure document for its Operator model; that contrast is covered in our breakdown of the Chick-fil-A Operator FDD.
When did Chipotle last have franchisees?
Chipotle’s last U.S. franchisees sold their restaurants back on April 30, 2007. The 10-K for 2005, filed while McDonald’s Corporation was still the majority owner, counted 8 franchisee-operated restaurants, and the 10-K for 2009 states that “all restaurants were company-owned at the end of 2007.” Franchising then left the filings until the Alshaya agreement of July 2023.
The 8 units sat in 3 states: 2 in Illinois, 2 in Missouri and 4 in Ohio, per the property table in the 10-K for 2006. Chipotle paid $2.5 million to 2 franchisees for 4 restaurants in March 2007 and $3.2 million for the other 4. The 10-K for 2010 carried a risk factor beginning “Because we do not franchise,” which warned that wage and employment-law costs could weigh more on Chipotle than on chains that shift those risks to franchisees.
| Date | Event | Filing or release |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2005 | 481 company-operated, 8 franchisee-operated | 10-K for 2005 |
| Dec 31, 2006 | 581 restaurants, 8 of them franchised | 10-K for 2006 |
| Apr 30, 2007 | Last 4 franchised restaurants bought back | 10-K for 2007 |
| Dec 31, 2007 | All restaurants company-owned | 10-K for 2009 |
| Jul 18, 2023 | First development agreement, Alshaya Group | Chipotle release, July 18, 2023 |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 3 international licensed restaurants | 10-K for 2024 |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 14 partner-operated, all in the Middle East | 10-K for 2025 |
| Jun 30, 2026 | 15 partner-operated restaurants | 10-Q, June 30, 2026 |
| Jul 16, 2026 | First Mexico restaurant, with Alsea | Chipotle release, July 13, 2026 |
| Sep 2, 2026 | First Asia restaurant, Seoul joint venture | Chipotle release, September 2, 2026 |
Who runs the partner-operated Chipotle restaurants abroad?
Three corporate groups, each on a different contract. Alshaya Group runs the Middle East restaurants under a development agreement signed July 18, 2023; Alsea opened the first Mexico restaurant on July 16, 2026; and Sangmidang Holdings, formerly SPC Group, runs South Korea through a joint venture that opened in Seoul on September 2, 2026.
| Partner | Markets | Agreement, in Chipotle’s words | First opening | Latest count stated | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alshaya Group | Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar | “First-ever development agreement” (July 18, 2023) | 2024, in Kuwait and Dubai | 14 at Dec 31, 2025 (10-K); 15 per the July 13, 2026 release | Release, July 18, 2023 |
| Alsea | Mexico | Development agreement (April 21, 2025) | July 16, 2026, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo León | First restaurant; Mexico City planned for 2027 | Release, July 13, 2026 |
| Sangmidang Holdings (formerly SPC Group) | South Korea, Singapore | Joint venture, S&C Restaurants Holdings (announced September 10, 2025) | September 2, 2026, 423 Gangnam-daero, Seoul | 2 more South Korea sites by the end of 2026; Singapore in 2027 | Release, September 2, 2026 |
Alshaya’s executive chairman, quoted in the July 18, 2023 release, called the group Chipotle’s “first and only franchise partner,” and the 10-K for 2024 describes Alshaya as an “international franchise retail operator.” The 10-K for 2025 states the trade-off directly: “we do not have direct control over the partner-operated restaurants.” Its 2026 plan calls for approximately 350 to 370 openings, of which 10 to 15 are international partner-operated.
Chipotle’s own boilerplate moved with these deals. The April 21, 2025 Alsea release called it “the only restaurant company of its size that owns and operates all its restaurants in North America and Europe.” The September 2, 2026 Seoul release, issued after the Mexico opening, narrowed that to “all its restaurants in the United States.”
What separates company-operated from franchised restaurants?
In a company-operated chain the brand signs the lease, pays for the build-out and employs the crew. In a franchised chain the franchisee carries those costs and pays the brand the fees disclosed in Items 5 and 6 of its disclosure document. Chipotle sits at the company-operated extreme, with 130,301 employees on December 31, 2025; QDOBA, a direct menu peer, runs both models.
| Question | Chipotle (company-operated) | QDOBA (franchised and company-owned) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who pays to build a restaurant? | Chipotle: about $1.5 million average per new restaurant in 2025 | The franchisee: Item 7 estimate of $548,100 to $1,294,000 (traditional) | 10-K 2025, Item 7; QDOBA FDD, Item 7 |
| Who controls the real estate? | Chipotle leases substantially all restaurant sites and owns 17 properties | The franchisee: real property lease or purchase costs “vary” by site, plus $200,000 to $525,000 of leasehold improvements | 10-K 2025, Item 2; QDOBA FDD, Item 7 |
| How does the brand get paid? | “Our revenue is derived from sales by our restaurants” | Royalty of 5% of gross sales plus a marketing fee of 4.50% | 10-K 2025, Item 1; QDOBA FDD, Item 6 |
| How many outlets does the brand run itself? | 4,042 company-owned; 0 U.S. franchised (end of 2025) | 175 company-owned; 652 franchised (end of 2025) | 10-K 2025, Item 7; QDOBA FDD, Item 20 |
| Which document shows the unit split? | Form 10-K, restaurant activity tables in Item 7 | FDD Item 20, Table 1, required by 16 CFR 436.5(t) | SEC EDGAR; eCFR Part 436 |
| Is a disclosure document filed? | No: 0 Chipotle filings in Minnesota CARDS (October 27, 2026) | Yes: delivered at least 14 calendar days before signing or paying | CARDS search; 16 CFR 436.2(a) |
The 10-K draws the staffing consequence itself: as a company that owns all its U.S. and Canada restaurants, Chipotle says it has “more employees than most of our restaurant peers, which franchise some or a significant portion of their operations.” Of the 130,301 people on its payroll at the end of 2025, 127,116 worked in the United States. How franchisors earn royalties instead of restaurant sales is laid out in our review of royalty and fee lines in 26 public franchisor 10-Ks.
How franchised is each brand, by its own count?
Dividing franchised outlets by total outlets in each filing gives a simple measure of how far a brand relies on franchisees. The figures below use year-end counts from Item 20, Table 1 of each current disclosure document and from Chipotle’s 10-K for 2025.
| Brand | Franchised outlets | Company-owned outlets | Franchised share | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chipotle, U.S. only | 0 | 3,938 | 0 / 3,938 = 0% | 10-K 2025 |
| Chipotle, worldwide (partner-operated as outside-run) | 14 | 4,042 | 14 / 4,056 = 0.3% | 10-K 2025 |
| Costa Vida (fiscal 2024) | 47 | 46 (affiliate-owned) | 47 / 93 = 50.5% | FDD, Item 20 |
| QDOBA | 652 | 175 | 652 / 827 = 78.8% | FDD, Item 20 |
| Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill | 52 | 8 | 52 / 60 = 86.7% | FDD, Item 20 |
| Moe’s Southwest Grill | 563 | 5 | 563 / 568 = 99.1% | FDD, Item 20 |
| Barberitos | 43 | 0 | 43 / 43 = 100% | FDD, Item 20 |
| Blaze Pizza | 230 | 0 | 230 / 230 = 100% | FDD, Item 20 |
Every franchisor must print this split for its last 3 fiscal years under 16 CFR 436.5(t), which is why the QDOBA rows can be checked line by line in its December 9, 2025 document. The legal roles behind the two columns are set out in our franchisee vs franchisor explainer.
What does Chipotle spend to open one restaurant?
About $1.5 million on average in 2025, according to the 10-K: that is Chipotle’s development and construction cost per new restaurant, or about $1.3 million after $0.2 million in landlord reimbursements. It is the only build figure Chipotle publishes, and it describes what the company spends, not a price anyone can pay to own a unit.
| Year | Average development and construction cost per new restaurant | Net of landlord reimbursements | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | about $1.5 million | about $1.3 million | 10-K 2024, Item 7 |
| 2025 | about $1.5 million | about $1.3 million | 10-K 2025, Item 7 |
| 2026 (expected) | “slightly higher” than 2025 | not stated | 10-K 2025, Item 7 |
For 2026 the company expects approximately $531.8 million in capital spending on new restaurants before landlord reimbursements. In 2025, 257 of its 334 new company-owned restaurants included a Chipotlane, the drive-through lane for digital-order pickup, and the 10-K expects around 80% of 2026 openings to include one.
The $1.5 million average does not line up with a franchise Item 7. Under 16 CFR 436.5(g), an Item 7 table covers the franchisee’s whole opening outlay, and Costa Vida’s version, for example, lists a $30,000 franchise fee, security and utility deposits, opening inventory and $50,000 to $100,000 of additional funds for 3 months. Chipotle’s 10-K gives one capital-spending average and does not split it into those lines.
Which Chipotle-style brands do franchise, and what does Item 7 show?
At least 6 made-to-order fast-casual brands file disclosure documents in Minnesota. Their Item 7 totals run from $371,400 at the low end of Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill to $1,968,450 at the top of Moe’s Southwest Grill, with initial fees of $30,000 to $40,000 and royalties of 5% to 6%. Taco Bell, a quick-service format, starts at $1,859,750.
| Brand (linked to FDD) | FDD issued | Item 7 total initial investment | Item 5 initial fee | Item 6 royalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QDOBA (traditional) | Dec 9, 2025 | $548,100 to $1,294,000 | $40,000 | 5% of gross sales |
| Moe’s Southwest Grill | Mar 27, 2026 | $644,425 to $1,968,450 | $35,500 | 5% of Net Sales |
| Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill | Apr 27, 2026 | $371,400 to $856,100 | $30,000 | 5% to 6% of Net Revenues |
| Barberitos | Jan 23, 2026 | $505,500 to $720,000 | $35,000 | 6% of Net Sales |
| Costa Vida | Apr 1, 2025 | $674,500 to $1,340,000 | $30,000 | 6% of monthly Net Sales |
| Blaze Pizza | Apr 30, 2026 | $757,000 to $1,297,100 | $30,000 | 5% of Gross Sales |
| Taco Bell (Traditional Unit) | Mar 26, 2026 | $1,859,750 to $4,312,200 | $45,000 | 5.5% of Gross Sales |
All figures are quoted from the cover page, Item 5, Item 6 and Item 7 of each document as filed in Minnesota CARDS. Costa Vida’s total excludes real estate lease costs, and its April 1, 2025 document was the latest Clean FDD on CARDS when we searched. QDOBA prints a second range of $234,500 to $898,000 for non-traditional sites, with a $20,000 fee and a 6% royalty.
Item 7 totals run from $371,400 (Salsarita’s low) to $1,968,450 (Moe’s Southwest Grill high). Source: current FDDs in Minnesota CARDS, accessed October 27, 2026.
Two fee cuts are written into Item 5: QDOBA takes $10,000 off its fee for honorably discharged veterans, and Barberitos offers 25% off to veterans and first responders. The Taco Bell row matches the document behind our line-by-line Taco Bell franchise cost page. For where these ranges sit against other sectors, see the Item 7 initial investment dataset and the royalty rate comparison across 259 FDDs.
None of these numbers measures owner income. Whether a brand publishes sales or cost data sits in Item 19 of its current document (16 CFR 436.5(s)); read that item in the filing itself before comparing brands, and use our item-by-item guide to the FDD to find each section.
Which path matches what you want from the Chipotle franchise idea?
Start from the goal, not the logo. A U.S. Chipotle is ruled out by the filings; a made-to-order Mexican restaurant you own starts with the Item 7 table above; a stake in Chipotle itself is a share purchase under ticker CMG on the New York Stock Exchange; and an offer of a Chipotle franchise is a reason to ask for a document that does not exist.
| If your goal is | Fact or threshold to check | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Own a U.S. Chipotle | Not offered: 0 U.S. franchises in the 10-K for 2025 | Compare FDDs from brands that franchise |
| Own a made-to-order Mexican restaurant with under $500,000 to invest | Only Salsarita’s ($371,400 low) and QDOBA non-traditional ($234,500 low) start below $500,000 | Read the Item 7 notes in those 2 documents first |
| Join a franchisor that also runs its own restaurants | QDOBA has 175 company-owned outlets, Costa Vida 46 affiliate-owned (2024); Barberitos and Blaze Pizza have 0 | Check the company-owned row of Item 20, Table 1 |
| Run Chipotle in a new country | Partners named so far are large groups: Alshaya, Alsea, Sangmidang (about 7,000 locations) | Corporate partner route: development agreement or joint venture |
| Share in Chipotle’s results | Public company, ticker CMG; 2,652 holders of record on January 30, 2026 | CMG shares on the NYSE, not a franchise |
| Someone offers you a Chipotle franchise | FDD due 14 days before signing, under 16 CFR 436.2(a) | Ask for the FDD: CARDS shows 0 Chipotle filings |
Listings titled “Chipotle franchise for sale” do appear in search results. Under 16 CFR 436.2(a) a seller of a U.S. franchise must hand over its current disclosure document at least 14 calendar days before you sign or pay, so a seller with no FDD to show, for a brand with 0 CARDS filings, is a red flag; patterns from past cases are in our franchise fraud research. If you want help narrowing brands that do sell franchises, here is what a franchise consultant does and how the referral works. This page is general information, not legal, financial or investment advice.
How we compiled this
We read 11 Chipotle SEC filings on EDGAR (10-Ks for fiscal 2005 to 2012, 2024 and 2025, and the 10-Q for June 30, 2026), 5 Chipotle press releases from 2023 to 2026, and 7 franchise disclosure documents downloaded from Minnesota CARDS, plus 16 CFR Part 436 on eCFR, in October 2026. We searched CARDS for “chipotle” on October 27, 2026. We excluded revenue, comparable sales, Item 19 data and any owner-income figures, and every cost estimate that lacked a primary source.
Frequently asked questions
Is Chipotle a franchise?
Not in the United States. Chipotle’s 10-K for 2025 counts 3,938 U.S. restaurants, all company-owned, and describes the company as owning and operating all its restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. Abroad, 14 partner-operated restaurants in the Middle East ran with Alshaya Group at the end of 2025, a category the filing says can include license or franchise agreements.
How much does a Chipotle franchise cost?
There is no price, because Chipotle sells no U.S. franchises and files no disclosure document. The closest figure is internal: Chipotle spent about $1.5 million on average to develop and build each new restaurant in 2025, per its 10-K. Made-to-order brands that do franchise list Item 7 totals from $371,400 (Salsarita’s) to $1,968,450 (Moe’s Southwest Grill).
What is the Chipotle franchise fee?
None exists. An initial franchise fee is disclosed in Item 5 of a disclosure document, and Minnesota’s CARDS registry held 0 Chipotle filings on October 27, 2026. For comparison, QDOBA charges $40,000 for a traditional restaurant, Moe’s Southwest Grill $35,500, Barberitos $35,000, and Salsarita’s, Costa Vida and Blaze Pizza $30,000 each.
Can I buy an existing Chipotle restaurant?
Not in the United States, because there are no U.S. franchisees to sell one. Chipotle bought its last 4 franchised restaurants on April 30, 2007, for $3.2 million, and its 10-K for 2009 states that all restaurants were company-owned at the end of 2007. Any U.S. listing offering a Chipotle for sale should be checked against those filings.
Why doesn't Chipotle franchise in the U.S.?
The filings give no single stated reason, but they show the trade-off. The 10-K for 2025 says that, owning all its U.S. and Canada restaurants, Chipotle has more employees than most restaurant peers (130,301 at year end), and it warns that it does not have direct control over its partner-operated restaurants abroad.
Who operates Chipotle restaurants in the Middle East, Mexico and South Korea?
Alshaya Group runs the Middle East units under a development agreement signed July 18, 2023, with 15 restaurants across the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar per a July 13, 2026 release. Alsea opened the first Mexico restaurant on July 16, 2026. In South Korea, the S&C Restaurants Holdings joint venture with Sangmidang Holdings opened in Seoul on September 2, 2026.
Sources
Chipotle filings and releases
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed February 4, 2026) (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2010 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2009 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2007 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2006 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2005 (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., 10-K filing index (SEC EDGAR; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle accelerates international expansion through first-ever development agreement with Alshaya Group in Middle East (July 18, 2023) (Chipotle Investor Relations; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle signs development agreement with Alsea to open restaurants in Mexico for the first time (April 21, 2025) (Chipotle Newsroom; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle to expand to Asia for the first time through a joint venture with SPC Group (September 10, 2025) (Chipotle Newsroom; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle enters Mexico with first restaurant in Nuevo Leon (July 13, 2026) (Chipotle Newsroom; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Chipotle arrives in Asia with first restaurant in Seoul (September 2, 2026) (Chipotle Newsroom; accessed October 27, 2026)
Franchise disclosure documents and regulation
- Qdoba Franchisor LLC, QDOBA Franchise Disclosure Document, issued December 9, 2025 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Moe’s Franchisor SPV LLC, Moe’s Southwest Grill Franchise Disclosure Document, issued March 27, 2026 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Salsarita’s Franchising, LLC, Franchise Disclosure Document, issued April 27, 2026 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Barberitos Franchising Co., LLC, Franchise Disclosure Document, issued January 23, 2026 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Costa Vida Management LLC, Franchise Disclosure Document, issued April 1, 2025 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Blaze Pizza, LLC, Franchise Disclosure Document, issued April 30, 2026 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Taco Bell Franchisor, LLC, Taco Bell Traditional Unit Franchise Disclosure Document, issued March 26, 2026 (Minnesota CARDS; accessed October 27, 2026)
- Minnesota Department of Commerce, CARDS franchise registrations search (State of Minnesota; accessed October 27, 2026)
- 16 CFR Part 436, FTC Franchise Rule (eCFR; accessed October 27, 2026)