Fast Food Franchise
Fast Food Franchise Real Estate — Find the Right Drive-Thru, the Right Plaza
Fast food franchises are a huge slice of Canadian franchising. Drive-thru pads and plaza endcaps are the most valuable sites. Summitly's REALTORS® work with national brands and independent franchisees across the country.
Coldwell Banker Summit Realty, Brokerage (905) 553-8500
What Summitly does — and doesn’t
Summitly's franchise practice is run by Coldwell Banker Summit Realty, a real estate brokerage specialising in franchise locations across Canada. We help you secure, hold, and exit the real estate underneath your franchise. We are not a franchise consultant or recruiter.
We handle
- Site search and site approval coordination for your franchise locations
- Commercial lease review, negotiation, and renewal
- Resale brokerage when it’s time to sell — confidential marketing, buyer prequalification, lease assignment
- Coordination with the landlord, lender, lawyer, and franchisor real estate team
We don’t handle
- Franchise applications, brand approval, or franchisor selection criteria
- Training, supply chain, operations, or marketing programs — those stay with the franchisor
- Picking a brand for you — that’s a business decision we’ll respect, not influence
Fast food franchise market in Canada
Fast food and quick-service restaurant franchises lead in store count in Canada. Build-out costs run $250,000 to $1 million. Drive-thru sites command premium rents but generate the strongest sales. Lease terms run 10 to 20 years.
Buying a fast food franchise
Site approval from the franchisor is the gating step. We pull approved sites that fit the brand's criteria — traffic counts, visibility, drive-thru access, and trade area gap. Existing locations with sales history are also a strong option.
Selling a fast food franchise
Buyers look at sales per square foot, lease term left, drive-thru, and brand health. Multi-unit owners often sell in packages. Summitly can list single locations or full portfolios.
Common mistakes fast food franchise buyers make
- Signing a non-drive-thru site for a brand that needs drive-thru — sales never catch up
- Underestimating royalty and marketing fees on slim QSR margins
- Taking the first site offered instead of waiting for a real fit
Popular fast food franchise brands
Common brands we work with — buying, selling, and leasing. Individual brand pages are coming soon.
- Tim Hortons
- A&W
- Mary Brown's
- Harvey's
Your franchise real estate team
Coldwell Banker Summit Realty — Franchise Real Estate Practice
Coldwell Banker franchise · Licensed in Ontario
Coldwell Banker Summit Realty, Brokerage runs a dedicated franchise real estate practice serving operators across Canada. We handle the operator-side real estate work on franchise deals — securing sites at the start, reviewing and negotiating commercial leases, and brokering the exit when it is time to sell. Backed by the Coldwell Banker brand, an independently owned and operated franchise with deep commercial and residential reach, our team reads a lease the way the operator does, scopes a site the way the franchisor does, and structures the exit the way the buyer will underwrite it.
- Operator-side franchise real estate across food, retail, hospitality, fitness, and service categories
- Site selection, lease review, and lease negotiation aligned to franchisor criteria
- Resale brokerage, location takeovers, new-build site work, and sale-leaseback structuring
- Backed by Coldwell Banker — an established global real estate brand and franchise network
Coldwell Banker Summit Realty, Brokerage (905) 553-8500
Questions
Fast Food franchise real estate: common questions
Quick, honest answers to what franchise buyers and sellers ask us most.
Most fast food franchises cost between $250,000 and $1 million all-in. Drive-thru locations are at the higher end. Brand fees, equipment, build-out, and opening inventory are the main line items.
For most major fast food brands, yes. Drive-thru drives 50 to 70 percent of sales at many quick-service restaurants. Skipping drive-thru for a cheaper site usually leads to weaker sales.
Often, yes — lenders see strong brands like Tim Hortons, McDonald's, and A&W as lower risk because of the sales track record. The Canada Small Business Financing Program covers most build-out and equipment costs.
Next step
Want a real read on a fast food deal?
Send us the brand and the city. We will tell you what the site search looks like in your market.
