🎯 The business: a store in one of the most recognized coffee-and-breakfast brands in the country, run under the franchisor’s system: their menu, their suppliers, their marketing, your capital and your management. Single stores are a living; the wealth in this brand is built by multi-unit owners.
Commuters, mostly before ten in the morning. Average tickets are small, so the business is volume and speed: a drive-through store might do 400 to 1,200 transactions a day. Per-store sales commonly fall between $1 million and $1.5 million a year, with the drive-through locations at the top of that range.
| Total investment per store, per the franchisor’s disclosure | ≈ $450,000 to $1.8 million |
| Initial franchise fee (varies by market and term) | $40,000 to $90,000 |
| Liquid cash the franchisor expects you to show | $250,000 or more |
| Royalty and advertising fees, ongoing | ≈ 5 percent plus ≈ 5 percent of sales |
Request the Franchise Disclosure Document and read Item 19 (financial performance) and Item 20 (how many stores opened and closed). Call ten current franchisees who are not on the brand’s reference list. Ask which territories are available; most good metros are spoken for and new owners often start in a development area. Get an SBA lender who knows the brand.
On $1.2 million of sales, after food cost, labor, rent, royalties and advertising, a well-run store commonly keeps 10 to 15 percent before debt service and owner pay. That is $120,000 to $180,000, less the loan payment on the buildout. The second and third stores share a manager and a supply run, which is why the brand pushes multi-unit agreements.
The FDD and franchise agreement, reviewed by a franchise attorney. Franchisor approval of you, the site and the lease. Health permits, food manager certification, and the brand’s own training. The territory and renewal terms matter more than the fee.
A site that looks fine and lacks the morning traffic. Labor: the store runs on early shifts and the turnover is brutal. A remodel the franchisor requires on their schedule. And the simple fact that you do not own the brand; the agreement can be ended, and the figures in this page are the brand’s to change. Verify everything in the current FDD.