QSR Landscape

Quick-service franchise brands, ranked by what they cost to run.

Döner Haus vs German Doner Kebab

Döner Haus and German Doner Kebab compared on disclosed fees, investment, units and Item 19 — figures from each brand's source filing.

Compiled from public filings and operator sites Reviewed 2026-08-15

Döner Haus German döner
German Doner Kebab German döner
5% / 11% Ongoing fee, left / right
$359,500–$586,000 / $690,500–$1,123,000 Item 7 totals

Both columns use the same fields as the rest of this desk. This is a filing comparison, not a recommendation. Neither column is a winner.

Field Döner Haus German Doner Kebab
What it is German döner imbiss UK kebab QSR
US offering Yes Yes
Headquarters New York, NY Auburn Hills, MI
Founded 2023 2017
Franchising since 2017
Units 6 (2026) 7 (2023)
Franchised / company 7 / 0
Typical size 700–1,200 sq ft 1,200–1,400 sq ft
Total investment $359,500–$586,000 $690,500–$1,123,000
Initial franchise fee $35,000 $30,000
Royalty 3% 6%
Brand fund 2% 3%
Local advertising Not required 2%
Total ongoing fee 5% 11%
Initial term 10 years
Territory A non-exclusive protected territory with no minimum size, negotiated from demographics. Excludes campuses, sports venues, transport sites and aggregator delivery zones.
Item 19 Yes. Discloses figures for a system with a short operating history, corporate and early franchised units. Yes. One franchised outlet at American Dream Mall, East Rutherford, the only unit open for the full year. 2023 gross revenues $1,383,053.
Training hours 160 (40 classroom, 120 on the job)
Source 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, 2026 FDD issued 3 September 2024, 2024

The useful difference is format, not the shared word “döner.” Döner Haus is disclosed as a standing-service imbiss of 700–1,200 square feet. German Doner Kebab’s US filing describes a 1,200–1,400 square foot outlet inside a five-outlet minimum. A candidate comparing one shop to one shop is not reading the same purchase.

Fee stack and Item 7 move together in the same direction here: Döner Haus shows a lower disclosed ongoing percentage and a lower issued investment range; GDK shows 6% royalty, 3% brand fund and 2% local advertising, with a higher Item 7 range per outlet. GDK’s local 2% can be waived if the store joins an advertising cooperative that can itself levy up to 2%, so the stack on the row is not the last word on advertising cash.

Item 19 is present on both sides. GDK’s note is a single franchised outlet at American Dream Mall for a full year. Döner Haus’s note covers a short operating history with corporate and early franchised units. Neither sample is a system average a consultant should quote as typical.

Item 20 scale is similar in headline count and different in age. Döner Haus’s six units are a 2026 row for a 2023 founding. GDK’s seven franchised units are a 2023 year-end count in a 2024 filing, and Item 1 of that filing claimed nine outlets by issuance. Ask which snapshot the current FDD uses.

Questions this pair actually decides

  • Is the buyer underwriting a compact counter shop or a five-outlet development schedule?
  • Which Item 19 population, if any, matches the format being sold today?
  • What does “local advertising” become after cooperatives, and can royalty or brand fund rise without a cap?
  • How many open, transferred and closed outlets sit behind the unit count on each row?

Read how consultants use this before treating the table as a shortlist. The German döner essay is the category context, not a third brand.

Read the full cards: Döner Haus and German Doner Kebab. Figures from each brand's source filing.