FranchiseVerdict
FV-00244·MODERATEStandard76

Barrel House

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2021
Investment
$680K – $1.7M
78th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
6
29th pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $680K – $1.7M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100.
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — 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
Barrel House Enterprises LLC
Incorporated in
Iowa
HQ
4401 W Locust St., Davenport, Iowa 52804
Auditor
LB CARLSON, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$122K
vs $122K prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2025
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Barrel House unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $680K–$1.7M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $60K–$75K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

10%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$128K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$1.2M
Payback
117 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Barrel House franchisees operate what appears to be a craft beverage or spirits-focused establishment (likely bar, distillery, or barrel-aged product retailer). Daily operations likely include inventory management, customer service, compliance with alcohol regulations, and event hosting, though specific operational details are unavailable without disclosure documents.

CEO
Jimmy Holt
Founded
2020
FDD year
2025
States available
2

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$680K – $1.7M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$60K – $75K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
6
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
5
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
17%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
1±0
Franchised units
2024
1
Franchised units
2025
1
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 12 · 2 states 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.

2

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

Early-stage or stagnant franchise system with minimal transparency on unit economics and franchisor financial health, requiring extensive validation before committing $680K+ investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo Item 19 disclosure — average revenue and net income not provided, making ROI analysis impossible
  2. 02MINOROnly 6 operating units suggests either very early stage or stagnant growth with unclear trajectory
  3. 03MEDHigh initial investment range ($680K-$1.66M) with no disclosed average profitability creates significant downside risk
  4. 04HIGHGoing Concern flag indicates potential financial instability at franchisor level
  5. 05MED5% royalty plus undisclosed operating costs could compress margins significantly
  6. 06HIGHNo litigation disclosure required doesn't mean none exists — only applies to material disputes

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Iowa

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
16 hrs
On-the-job training
120 hrs
POS system
Toast
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

4 numbers

Locked
(360) 902-••••
SD
(804) 371-••••
SD
(518) 473-••••
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Barrel House · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above