# German Doner Kebab franchise German Doner Kebab is a uk kebab qsr franchise based in Auburn Hills, MI. | Field | Value | | --- | --- | | Total ongoing fee | 11% of gross sales | | Royalty | 6% | | Brand fund | 3% | | Local advertising | 2% | | Initial franchise fee | $30,000 | | Total investment | $690,500–$1,123,000 | | Typical size | 1,200–1,400 sq ft | | Units (2023) | 7 (7 franchised, 0 company-owned) | | Founded | 2017 | | Franchising since | 2017 | | 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. One franchised outlet at American Dream Mall, East Rutherford, the only unit open for the full year. 2023 gross revenues $1,383,053. | The 2% local spend is waived if the store joins a GDK advertising cooperative, which can itself levy up to 2%. Royalty and brand fund may be raised annually with no cap. The Item 7 range is per outlet inside a five-outlet minimum commitment; a standalone single-store purchase is not offered. Item 1 of the same filing claimed nine outlets open by issuance, against seven at the 2023 year end reported here. ## A larger restaurant version of German döner German Doner Kebab is the other live German-döner franchise system in this dataset. The US franchisor is based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, while the wider operator is headquartered in Glasgow. The FDD issued 3 September 2024, dataset year 2024, assumes a 1,200-to-1,400-square-foot restaurant inside a five-outlet minimum commitment. That is a materially different development obligation from buying one compact shop. The company's [US location directory](https://gdkusa.com/) currently names American Dream, Astoria, Midtown Manhattan, Centereach and Frisco. The dataset's Item 20 row records seven outlets at year-end 2023, all franchised, zero company-owned, while Item 1 of the same 2024 filing said nine were open by issuance. Neither figure should be rewritten to match a later consumer locator: each statement covers a different date and document.
A German Doner Kebab counter at the White Rose shopping centre in Leeds
The Leeds White Rose unit uses a broad mall-facing counter and visible preparation line, illustrating the chain's restaurant and shopping-centre format rather than a street-window imbiss. Photograph by Drtwestphal2, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
## What the 2024 filing requires The initial franchise fee is $30,000. The fee stack is 11%: 6% royalty, 3% brand fund and 2% local advertising. The local spend can be waived when a shop participates in an advertising cooperative, but the cooperative may itself levy up to 2%. The filing also allows annual increases to royalty and brand fund without a stated cap. That is why the current percentage is only the starting obligation. Item 7 is $690,500 to $1,123,000 per outlet within the multi-unit commitment. Construction and equipment assumptions belong to this 1,200-to-1,400-square-foot format: leasehold improvements $0–$250,000, mechanical/electrical/plumbing $150,000–$175,000, fit-out $175,000–$205,000, restaurant equipment $140,000–$175,000, plus hardware, furniture, training, inventory and three months of additional funds. A standalone single-store purchase is not offered in this filing. ## Item 19, training, territory and term The filing's Item 19 covers the American Dream franchised outlet, the only unit open for the full reported year, so the disclosed performance is one-store evidence rather than a system average. Training totals 40 classroom hours and 120 on the job. The initial term is ten years. Renewal is one ten-year option, conditioned in part on the outlet not ranking in the bottom 10% on performance. Renewal fee is 50% of the then-current franchise fee. Transfer fee is 5% of the sale price. Territory is a non-exclusive protected territory with no minimum size, negotiated from demographics. It excludes campuses, sports venues, transport sites and aggregator delivery zones. Grand opening marketing is $10,000–$15,000. GDK's [official consumer site](https://www.gdk.com/us/gdk-locations?country=us) describes open kitchens, fresh-cut meat and in-store sauce preparation. Those claims explain the customer format; the FDD explains the franchise obligation. Keeping the two source types separate makes GDK comparable without treating its marketing copy or international footprint as US disclosure evidence. ## Who it is not German Doner Kebab is not Döner Haus's 700–1,200-square-foot imbiss, not a one-shop starter packet, not The Halal Guys' platter system, and not Doner Shack. Founded 2017, seven US franchised units at year-end 2023, it is a small US count for a consumer brand that is easy to file as “established.” The [emerging versus established essay](/emerging-vs-established/) is the place to keep seven from being mistaken for 323. The [Döner Haus versus GDK compare](/compare/doner-haus-vs-german-doner-kebab/) is the desk pair. ## What to request next Obtain the current FDD and confirm the five-outlet minimum still applies. Rebuild Item 20 from the current tables; this desk uses seven franchised outlets at year-end 2023, while Item 1 of the 2024 filing said nine were open by issuance. Write down Item 19 as one franchised outlet at American Dream Mall, the only unit open for the full reported year — one-store evidence, not a system average. Model the 11% stack with the cooperative alternative to the 2% local spend, and the right to raise royalty and brand fund annually with no cap. Item 7 is $690,500–$1,123,000 per outlet for 1,200–1,400 square feet. Training is 40 classroom and 120 on the job. Renewal is one ten-year option if the outlet is not in the bottom 10% on performance. Territory is non-exclusive with venue and delivery carve-outs. German Doner Kebab is a restaurant-and-minimum packet. It is not a one-shop imbiss. Figures from FDD issued 3 September 2024; dataset year 2024. --- HTML: https://franchiselandscape.com/franchises/german-doner-kebab/