Evergreens dangles reduced royalty rates to land 1st franchisees

Excluding airport units, the top half of Evergreen's company-owned restaurants averaged more than $1.45 million in annual sales last year

Seattle-based Evergreens is offering a discounted royalty rate to whoever signs on as its first franchisees, as the 14-unit chain opens itself to franchising for the first time.

Franchise incentives

"Our first franchise partners are making an early commitment to Evergreens and will play an important role in helping us establish the brand in new markets," Neil Harfert, president and CEO of Evergreens, said in an email interview with FastCasual. "We wanted to recognize that commitment by giving those partners some additional economic support during the critical early years of development"

Under the limited-time "Founders Incentive," franchisees who sign a development agreement in 2026 will pay a royalty rate of 3.5% on restaurants opened in 2027 and 4.5% on those opened in 2028, before moving to the standard 5.5% rate. The staggered discount is meant to ease the fee burden during a franchisee's early years of building out locations, Harfert said.

The incentive accompanies the broader launch of Evergreens' franchise program, which opens development opportunities across 12 Western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Some of the company's existing markets will remain reserved for corporate-owned growth.

Partner requirements

Evergreens is looking for franchisees with multi-unit growth ambitions, local market knowledge and a focus on hospitality and operational execution. New franchise partners will get support from Evergreens' Seattle-based team, including training, opening assistance, site-selection and lease-negotiation guidance and access to the company's operating systems.

"We've spent more than a decade focused on building a brand that guests love and an operating model that works," Harfert said. "Over the past year, we've taken another significant step forward — strengthening our operations, refreshing the brand, and building the infrastructure needed to support growth well beyond our existing footprint. Franchising allows us to take what we've learned operating our own restaurants and partner with great local operators who can bring Evergreens to new communities across the West."

Evergreens sells made-to-order, customizable salads, wraps and bowls and has positioned its restaurant format for relatively simple operations. Locations require no exhaust hoods and no on-site cooking, according to the company, and typically range from about 1,000 to 1,700 square feet. That footprint, Harfert said, allows it to fit into inline and end-cap spaces, lifestyle centers, mixed-use developments and urban office corridors.

Investment and growth

In terms of the cost to open a standard Evergreens restaurant, the FDD lists an estimated initial investment range of approximately $640,000 to $1.1 million, depending on factors such as location, restaurant size and build-out requirements.

"That said, we partnered with OMFGCO in Portland earlier this year on a comprehensive brand refresh that included rethinking our restaurant design and prototype," Harfert said. "We believe that work will allow us to create a more efficient buildout and ultimately bring the cost of opening future Evergreens restaurants down from the ranges reflected in our current FDD."

Harfert pointed to its 2025 performance as evidence the concept can scale.

Excluding airport units, the top half of its company-owned restaurants averaged more than $1.45 million in annual sales last year, according to the company.

The company has also posted two straight years of comparable-sales growth, with comp sales up 4.5% in 2024 over 2023 and 9.2% in 2025 over 2024.

Cherryh Cansler is Publisher of FastCasual.com and Vice President of Connect Food. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.