Restaurants
Cold Stone Creamery franchise
Cold Stone Creamery franchises retail ice cream stores offering super-premium ice cream made fresh in-store, custom mix-in creations on a frozen granite stone, cakes, shakes, and smoothies.
- Opening investment
- $390,675–$680,775
- Average annual revenue
- $604,392
- U.S. locations
- 884
Traditional restaurant ($170,925–$460,225 non-traditional) · 2026 FDD Item 7
Avg. Gross Sales ($573,674 median) · 978 U.S. franchised stores (FY2025 Item 19)
2025 FY-end (880 franchised + 4 company-owned · Item 20)
Opening costs and fees
$390,675–$680,775
Opening costs vary by format, location and lease terms.
Operating formats
Non-Traditional Restaurant
$170,925–$460,225Key ongoing fees
- Royalty
- 6% of Gross Sales (plus up to $10/week surcharge in New York).Weekly
- Advertising & Promotion
- 3% of weekly Gross Sales (2% national + 1% regional/co-op; franchisor may increase to 4% on 30 days’ notice).Weekly
- Data & POS Help Desk
- Up to $75/month Data Fee + up to $60/month POS Help Desk Phone Support; 11% gift card redemption fee.Monthly
Selected ongoing charges, not a complete fee schedule. Confirm the current FDD and the terms for your format.
Running the business
- Owner involvement
- Active participation sought; at least one full-time trained on-premises manager must supervise daily operations (equity not required).
- Initial training
- 40 hours classroom training + 80 hours in-store training for 2 attendees included in initial franchise fee.
- Territory
- Approved restaurant site only; no exclusive territory is granted.
- Agreement term
- Initial franchise term is 10 years.
Revenue and performance
$604,392
Avg. Gross Sales ($573,674 median) · 978 U.S. franchised stores (FY2025 Item 19)
Revenue is sales before expenses, not owner income. Compare matching periods, formats and location samples.
Locations
884 U.S. locations (2025 FY-end (880 franchised + 4 company-owned · Item 20)).
Existing locations do not establish that a new territory is available. Confirm your market with the franchisor.
Sources and figure notes
Reporting periods and scope
Opening investment
Traditional restaurant opening investment is $390,675–$680,775 across 19 priced rows, including $20,000 additional funds for 3 months. Non-traditional restaurant total is $170,925–$460,225. Excludes real estate and rent except initial security deposit.
Average annual revenue
Item 19 reports average annual Gross Sales of $604,392 and median of $573,674 across 978 existing U.S. franchised stores for December 1, 2024–November 30, 2025 (418 stores / 43% met or exceeded the average). Excludes Guam, newly opened stores, and stores temporarily closed at year-end.
U.S. locations
2026 FDD Item 20 Table 1 reports 880 U.S. franchised stores and 4 company-owned stores (884 total U.S. stores) at fiscal year-end 2025.
Research snapshot: . Sources and methodology
Compare independent startup vs. franchise economics
Compare Cold Stone Creamery’s franchise model against starting or buying an independent business in desserts and snacks (line-item CapEx, 0%-royalty owner SDE margins & SBA resale multiples):