Barney BrownFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Barney Brown franchise requires a total initial investment of $94K – $597K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.6M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $94K – $597K
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Each dollar invested generates 4.6x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $94K – $597K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 47/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Barney Brown Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Barney Brown, Inc.
- CEO title
- Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
- Matthew Baer
- CEO experience
- 8 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 822 Avenue of the Americas, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10001
- Auditor
- Roos & McNabb CPA'S
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Barney Brown franchisees operate a business (specific model not provided in data) generating ~$1.57M in average annual revenue. Daily operations involve managing the 10-year franchise under a 6% gross sales royalty model with protected territorial rights, though the operational nature and staffing requirements are not specified.
- CEO
- Matthew Baer
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 30 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Pickup Location)not refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements (Pickup Location) | $30K | $250K | |
| Lease Deposits - Three Months (Pickup Location) | $9K | $48K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (Pickup Location) | $44K | $110K | |
| Signage (Pickup Location) | $3K | $12K | |
| Computer, Software and Point of Sales System (Pickup Location) | $7K | $11K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing (Pickup Location) | $10K | $10K | |
| Initial Inventory (Pickup Location) | $15K | $30K | |
| Utility Deposits (Pickup Location) | $500 | $3K | |
| Insurance Deposits - Three Months (Pickup Location) | $4K | $9K | |
| Travel for Initial Training (Pickup Location) | $3K | $7K | |
| Professional Fees (Pickup Location) | $6K | $22K | |
| Licenses and Permits (Pickup Location) | $500 | $2K | |
| Wrapped Vehicle (Pickup Location) | $0 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months (Pickup Location) | $35K | $50K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Virtual Restaurant)not refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements (Virtual Restaurant) | $0 | $70K | |
| Lease Deposits - Three Months (Virtual Restaurant) | $6K | $18K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (Virtual Restaurant) | $3K | $60K | |
| Signage (Virtual Restaurant) | $500 | $2K | |
| Total initial investment | $290K | $892K |
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
$220K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
58%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
21 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $94K – $597K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $750 |
| Training fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Historical Company-Owned Outlets
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.0M→$2.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 4.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Barney Brown Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Micro-franchise system (2 units) with opaque financials, undisclosed net income, and wide investment variance presents elevated due diligence risk despite no litigation and protected territory.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Roos & McNabb CPA'S⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 47 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 units in system with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient scale and proof of concept
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — cannot validate 6% royalty impact or actual profitability
- 03MINORMassive investment range ($93.5K–$597K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or poorly defined costs
- 04MINORAverage revenue of $1.57M relies on only 2 data points — statistically unreliable and vulnerable to outlier manipulation
- 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation limits ability to validate franchise viability claims
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York County, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 88 hrs
- Training location
- New York, New York
- POS system
- proprietary information management and point of sale system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: proprietary information management and point of sale system
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Barney Brown franchise?
The total investment to open a Barney Brown franchise ranges from $94K – $597K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Barney Brown franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Barney Brown FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.6M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Barney Brown's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Barney Brown (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Barney Brown franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Barney Brown has 2 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Barney Brown a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Barney Brown as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 47 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.
For franchisors
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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.