Section 11 Rev. 2026-08-15
Cost per square foot
What you get when you divide an Item 7 range by a square-footage range, and why the result is not a contractor's bid.
Dividing an Item 7 total by square footage is a way to see that two ranges describe different projects. It is not a way to bid a restaurant. The numerator is a low-to-high opening-investment estimate that includes fees, deposits, equipment, inventory, and working capital. The denominator is a low-to-high footprint. Four combinations are possible, and none of them is the contractor’s number for the room under lease.
This chapter uses only brands that disclose both an Item 7 range and a square-footage range. Wienerschnitzel has neither Item 7 nor a footprint in this dataset. The Halal Guys, Dog Haus, Crave Hot Dogs and BBQ, Pepper Lunch, and Capriotti’s have Item 7 totals in the directory and no square-footage field on the brand record, so they are omitted here.
The arithmetic, shown rather than summarized
For each brand, four implied dollars-per-square-foot figures exist:
- low total ÷ large footprint (the smallest implied $/sq ft)
- low total ÷ small footprint
- high total ÷ large footprint
- high total ÷ small footprint (the largest implied $/sq ft)
| Brand | Sq ft | Item 7 | Low ÷ large | Low ÷ small | High ÷ large | High ÷ small |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German Doner Kebab | 1,200–1,400 | $690,500–$1,123,000 | $493 | $575 | $802 | $936 |
| Shah’s Halal Food | 1,200–2,000 | $197,000–$405,000 | $99 | $164 | $203 | $338 |
| The Great Greek | 1,800–2,000 | $582,014–$1,088,560 | $291 | $323 | $544 | $605 |
| Mad for Chicken | 2,000–4,000 | $320,125–$687,700 | $80 | $160 | $172 | $344 |
| 375° Chicken ‘n Fries | 800–1,500 | $324,100–$521,500 | $216 | $405 | $348 | $652 |
| Döner Haus | 700–1,200 | $359,500–$586,000 | $300 | $514 | $488 | $837 |
The dollars are rounded to the nearest dollar after dividing the filing’s totals by the endpoints of the published footprint. GDK’s $690,500 ÷ 1,400 = $493.21, shown as $493. Döner Haus’s $359,500 ÷ 1,200 = $299.58, shown as $300. No line-item split sits behind the Döner Haus row; the issued range is the whole numerator.
Mad for Chicken’s $80 (low total on 4,000 square feet) and GDK’s $936 (high total on 1,200 square feet) are both “Item 7 per square foot.” They are not two bids for comparable rooms. Mad for Chicken’s 2024 table is a 2,000–4,000 square-foot full restaurant at $320,125–$687,700. GDK’s 2024 table is a 1,200–1,400 square-foot outlet inside a five-outlet minimum at $690,500–$1,123,000. The formats, filing years, and included rows differ before anyone divides.
Why the numerator is the wrong kind of cost
Item 7 is an opening-investment estimate. The FTC’s Franchise Rule compliance guide includes amounts paid to establish the business and additional expenses through the initial period. A contractor bids work in the premises. Those are different objects.
GDK’s $1,123,000 high includes a $30,000 franchise fee, $25,000–$30,000 of deposits, $15,000–$20,000 of additional funds, $15,000–$20,000 of opening inventory, and $10,000–$15,000 of pre-launch marketing. None of that is flooring. Dividing the whole high by 1,200 square feet and calling the result a construction unit cost attributes fees and working capital to the slab.
Construction-only division is still not a bid, but it is a less mixed numerator for the brands that itemise it:
| Brand | Construction-bucket range | Construction ÷ large sq ft (low–high) | Construction ÷ small sq ft (low–high) |
|---|---|---|---|
| German Doner Kebab | $355,000–$680,000 | $254–$486 | $296–$567 |
| Shah’s Halal Food | $80,000–$160,000 | $40–$80 | $67–$133 |
| The Great Greek | $260,000–$660,000 | $130–$330 | $144–$367 |
| Mad for Chicken | $85,000–$255,000 | $21–$64 | $43–$128 |
| 375° Chicken ‘n Fries | $108,000–$212,000 | $72–$141 | $135–$265 |
Shah’s $40–$80 of construction per large-footprint square foot is the conversion-shaped band. Great Greek’s $130–$367 spans a design fee plus leasehold improvements of $250,000–$650,000. GDK’s construction unit costs stay high even at the low end because mechanical, electrical, and plumbing ($150,000–$175,000) and fit-out ($175,000–$205,000) do not go to zero when leasehold improvements do. Döner Haus has no construction row here, so it cannot appear in this second table.
A contractor will still bid from drawings, existing conditions, and the authority having jurisdiction — not from $254 per square foot derived from a 2024 FDD.
Footprint endpoints are not the room
Square-footage ranges in these filings are typical-outlet statements, not measured areas of a leased premises. GDK’s 1,200–1,400, Shah’s 1,200–2,000, Great Greek’s 1,800–2,000, Mad for Chicken’s 2,000–4,000, 375°’s 800–1,500, and Döner Haus’s 700–1,200 are format descriptions. Rentable area, usable area, and kitchen area are different measurements. A 1,350 square-foot GDK-shaped shop with a 400 square-foot back of house is not “the midpoint.”
Mad for Chicken’s express format of $242,500–$466,700 is a second Item 7, not a second square-footage field in this dataset. Dividing the express total by the full-restaurant 2,000–4,000 square feet would mix two offerings. This page does not.
Worked example: 375° versus GDK
375°’s high total of $521,500 on 800 square feet implies $652 per square foot. GDK’s low total of $690,500 on 1,400 square feet implies $493 per square foot. A ranking that says “375° is more expensive per foot” has compared a small outlet’s high end on its small footprint with a larger outlet’s low end on its large footprint, across two 2024 filings with different row structures. 375° itemises FF&E at $100,000–$120,000 and construction-bucket costs at $108,000–$212,000. GDK itemises restaurant equipment at $140,000–$175,000 and construction-bucket costs at $355,000–$680,000. The unit-cost ranking hid that.
Döner Haus’s $300–$837 band overlaps several of the others because a 700–1,200 square-foot imbiss total of $359,500–$586,000 can be divided four ways. Without line items, those four numbers cannot be traced to construction, equipment, or fees. They remain a way to see the issued range against the issued footprint, nothing more.
How to use a $/sq ft figure without believing it
- Write down all four combinations, as in the first table, so the midpoint does not masquerade as a typical cost.
- Keep filing year and format on the same line as the unit cost.
- If you need a construction unit cost, divide only construction-bucket rows that the filing already separated — never a guessed slice of a restaurant package.
- Compare the result with a contractor’s schematic estimate for the actual room, not with another brand’s implied $/sq ft.
- Put landlord TI, stated as dollars per square foot in the lease, on a separate line from Item 7 per square foot. They look similar and fund different things. See tenant-improvement allowance.
A per-square-foot rent quote and an Item 7-per-square-foot figure will look alike on a spreadsheet and fund different things. Rent is occupancy for a term. Item 7 is opening cash, including fees and reserves. Landlord TI is a third dollars-per-foot number, defined by the lease. Keep all three labeled. Mixing them is how a $50 TI looks like it “covers” Shah’s $80,000–$160,000 build-out until the reimbursement date arrives.
The what the range hides chapter is the qualitative version of this arithmetic. The construction chapter is the row-by-row version. This page exists so that a divided range is shown as a divided range, and then left behind when the drawings come in.