7 BrewFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A 7 BREW franchise requires a total initial investment of $894K – $2.2M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.0M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $894K – $2.2M
- 94th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- 54th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 321
- 85th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 22 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
The system grew 85% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
26% cash-on-cash return (based on Gross Margin). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $894K – $2.2M including a $35K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $2.1M), with an estimated 26% cash-on-cash return (based on Gross Margin). Note: this is gross profit, not take-home income.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 1000.0% CAGR over 3 years with 321 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Brew Culture Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Brew Culture, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Blondie Holdings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- WY
- HQ
- 2710 S. 48th Street, Springdale, Arkansas 72762
- Auditor
- CohnReznick LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $15.4M
- vs $43.5M prior year
Overview
About
7 Brew franchisees operate drive-thru and/or walk-in coffee beverage stands, serving espresso-based drinks, cold brew, and specialty beverages. Day-to-day responsibilities include staffing 2–4 employees per shift, managing inventory, maintaining equipment, executing brand standards, and handling point-of-sale and cash operations across multiple service windows.
- CEO
- John Davidson
- Headquarters
- AR
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 31
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Fee and First Initial Franchise Fee (minimum 5-Store commitment)not refundable | $75K | $75K | |
| Rent and Security Deposit | $5K | $20K | |
| Building / Build-Out Costsnot refundable | $319K | $600K | |
| Site Development Costsnot refundable | $200K | $800K | |
| Architectural and Engineering Feesnot refundable | $10K | $60K | |
| Store Equipment, Fixtures, and Furniturenot refundable | $185K | $250K | |
| Signsnot refundable | $10K | $40K | |
| Point-of-Sale Systemnot refundable | $15K | $25K | |
| Opening Inventory, Supplies, and Uniformsnot refundable | $15K | $50K | |
| Business and Operating Permitsnot refundable | $3K | $25K | |
| Initial Training Travel & Living Expensesnot refundable | $10K | $75K | |
| Utilities | $500 | $3K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Marketing Start-Up Expensenot refundable | $20K | $75K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $25K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $894K | $2.2M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$316K
15.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
20%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $894K – $2.2M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $75K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.8%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 6.8% of rev |
A 6.8% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.1M
- Avg gross margin
- $404K
- Reported as Gross Margin in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 26.3%
- Based on Gross Margin / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual Average and Median
- Sample size
- 180 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $889K→$4.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How 7 Brew Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 321
- Opened
- 139
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 24
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 14.3%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +84.5%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 14
- Transfer rate
- 4.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 99.0%
- Units that stayed open
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 22 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 22
- Loan volume
- $23.5M
- Median loan
- $1.4M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into 7 Brew's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 6 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 8 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 6-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
7 Brew shows strong unit growth and acceptable profitability claims, but lack of financial disclosure transparency and rapid expansion raise questions about sustainability and franchisee experience variability.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CohnReznick LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 5 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $598K average net income
- 02MINORHigh unit growth rate (84.5% YoY) raises sustainability concerns — rapid expansion often precedes market saturation or quality control issues
- 03MEDWide investment range ($894K–$2.18M) suggests inconsistent build-out costs or undisclosed variables affecting ROI predictability
- 04MINORRoyalty structure tops out at 7% of weekly gross sales — compounded with rent and labor, squeezes net margins on ~$2M revenue
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Springdale, Arkansas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Arkansas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 4 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 138 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- POS system
- iPad-based POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: iPad-based POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
41 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
7 BREW · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a 7 BREW franchise?
The total investment to open a 7 BREW franchise ranges from $894K – $2.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do 7 BREW franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the 7 BREW FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.0M. The median is $2.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is 7 BREW's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, 7 BREW has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many 7 BREW franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, 7 BREW has 321 total units in the United States. 139 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is 7 BREW a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates 7 BREW as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.