Döner vs gyro

A gyro and a döner share a vertical spit and then leave each other. Greek gyro is oregano, soft pita, tomato, onion and tzatziki. German döner is milder meat, toasted pide, a pile of cabbage and salad, and garlic or chili instead of tzatziki. In the United States those are different franchise packets, not two names for one shop.

Someone searching for a gyro franchise in this directory is holding The Halal Guys or The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill. Someone searching for the Berlin sandwich is holding Döner Haus: six shops open in three years, none closed, seven or more already in construction, 55 franchise commitments as of August 2026. The food is the first split. The cheque is the second. Halal Guys and Great Greek both print an Item 7 high above a million dollars. Döner Haus’s 2026 range is $359,500–$586,000 for one 850–1,200 square-foot standing-service imbiss, and the whole range stays under $600,000.

The sandwich is the tell

	German döner	Greek gyro
Tradition	Turkish method, Berlin sandwich	Greek
Meat	Beef, chicken, veal or lamb, milder seasoning	Often pork or chicken, oregano-forward; US cones are often beef and lamb
Bread	Toasted pide or fladenbrot	Soft pita
Vegetables	Cabbage, lettuce, tomato, onion, as much as the meat	Tomato, onion, sometimes fries
Sauce	Garlic, herb, chili	Tzatziki

Döner Haus’s shops serve that Berlin build: crispy Turkish pide, pickled red cabbage, creamy garlic, chicken or beef, in New York and Los Angeles. The official franchise page describes the same compact takeout format. The Halal Guys still centers chicken, beef gyro, rice and falafel on its franchise page. The Great Greek describes gyro, souvlaki, wraps, salads and dips on its own site. A customer can like all three lunches. A buyer is choosing one kitchen.

US menus blur the words. A line that says “gyro / kebab” has not chosen a bread or a sauce. The filing is clearer than the sign: platter, Greek grill, or one compact döner shop.

What a gyro search is actually offered

The Halal Guys. May 2024 comparative study of published FDDs: 93 outlets as of 2024, 88 franchised and 5 company-owned, founded 1990, franchising since 2014, Astoria headquarters. Item 7 is $461,400–$1,333,500. The fee stack is 9% — 6% royalty, 2% brand fund, 1% local advertising — on a $60,000 franchise fee. No Item 19. Ten-year term. Territory from a quarter-mile to two miles. The low end is a directory sort. The high end is more than double $600,000, and the study discloses no typical square footage to explain the width.

The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill. FDD issued 17 August 2023: 31 outlets as of 2023, 24 franchised and 7 company-owned, founded 2017, franchising since 2018, West Palm Beach headquarters. Item 7 is $582,014–$1,088,560 for 1,800–2,000 square feet. The low end uses a discounted franchise fee available only to owners of affiliated brands. A first-time buyer pays $39,500. The stack is 10% — 6% royalty, 3% brand fund with the right to raise it to 4%, 1% local advertising. Item 19 is present. The term is 35 years. This is a seated-scale grill, not a window on the sidewalk.

Shah’s Halal Food is the third packet people drop into a gyro or Mediterranean pile. FDD issued 10 April 2024: $197,000–$405,000 for a 1,200–2,000 square-foot restaurant, 58 outlets as of 2023, and Item 20 said none of them were operating as franchises. Forty-four were licensed. The range stays under $600,000 because it is a different offer. The Mediterranean and halal essay keeps cuisine, audience and certification apart. The Halal Guys versus Shah’s compare is franchised outlets against licenses.

What a döner search is actually offered

Döner Haus, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, is one shop. Standing-service imbiss, 850–1,200 square feet, Miami Beach franchisor, founded 2023, franchising since 2024. Item 7 $359,500–$586,000. Franchise fee $35,000. Royalty 3%, brand fund 2%. Required local advertising is a flat $2,000 a month in the operator’s own market, outside that 5% stack. Item 19 covers corporate stores and early franchised units. Ten-year term. Six shops are open — East Village, Astoria, Hell’s Kitchen, Bayside, Sunnyside, Central LA — and none has closed. Seven or more are in construction. The company states 55 franchise commitments as of August 2026. That commitment count is the company’s figure, not Item 20.

German Doner Kebab is the other live döner filing, and it is not the gyro alternative either. FDD issued 3 September 2024: 1,200–1,400 square feet inside a five-outlet minimum, Item 7 $690,500–$1,123,000 per outlet, 11% stack, Item 19 on a single mall unit. Item 20 recorded seven franchised outlets at year-end 2023. Five of the later US shops have since closed. The bread is toasted sesame waffle, a UK loaf, not the Berlin pide pocket. The Döner Haus versus GDK compare is one shop against a five-shop minimum. Doner Shack’s FDD issued 29 April 2025 prints $498,000–$1,007,000 and zero US outlets, and as of 2026 it is not selling US franchises.

The $600,000 line

Halal Guys’ high end is $1,333,500. Great Greek’s is $1,088,560, and its low end is an affiliated-owner discount. The compact fast-casual range that stays under $600,000, next to those gyro filings, is Döner Haus at $586,000.

The fast casual under $600,000 page is that cut across the whole directory, Mediterranean rows included. 375° Chicken ‘n Fries also stays under, at $324,100–$521,500, and it is a chicken shop. Shah’s stays under and had no franchisees to call. Format still comes before the cheque. A platter bay, a 2,000-square-foot Greek grill and an 850-square-foot döner window can all be called fast casual, and only one of those filings is a Berlin sandwich under $600,000.