FranchiseVerdict
Big Apple Bagels logo
FV-00297·MODERATEExcellent81

Big Apple Bagels

Food & Beverage - BakeryFranchising since 1993Website
Investment
$513K – $745K
74th pct Bakery
Avg revenue
$632K
19th pct Bakery
Royalty
5.0%
4th pct Bakery
Units
48
57th pct Bakery
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $513K – $745K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $632K/year.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 91 loans (below the industry average).
  • No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
BAB SYSTEMS, INC.
Parent company
BAB, Inc.
Incorporated in
Illinois
HQ
500 Lake Cook Road, Suite 475, Deerfield, Illinois 60015
Auditor
Sassetti LLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.3M
vs $3.3M prior year

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 Big Apple Bagels unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $632,194
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $513K–$745K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $12K–$18K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

10%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$63K
EBITDA margin
10.0%
Total invested
$644K
Payback
122 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Big Apple Bagels units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$379K

on $1.9M purchase

Total debt

$1.5M

SBA $0.9M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Big Apple Bagels franchisees operate quick-service bagel cafés selling fresh bagels, spreads, sandwiches, and beverages. Day-to-day operations include bagel production/baking, food prep, POS management, staff scheduling, inventory ordering, and customer service in a compact retail footprint.

CEO
MICHAEL W. EVANS
Founded
1992
FDD year
2026
States available
12

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$513K – $745K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$12K – $18K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$632K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
Item 19 type
Gross Revenues
Sample size
47 units
vs category median 23 · large
Range (low → high)
$174K$1.4M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
3 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Revenue rank19th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Investment cost rank74th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank4th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank57th
vs Food & Beverage - Bakery peers
Risk score rank43th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
48
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
2.1%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-2.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-2.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
48-1
Franchised units
2025
49
Franchised units
2026
49
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 20 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 20 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

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

Total loans
91
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

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

Risk & Legal

57
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE57 / 100

Big Apple Bagels presents moderate-to-caution risk due to declining unit growth, absent net income disclosure, unprotected territories, and high capital requirements relative to an unproven ROI model.

Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-2.0% YoY) signals system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate profitability claims or ROI
  3. 03MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk; new units could cannibalize existing franchise revenue
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment ($512.5K–$745K) with unverified return expectations and no income disclosure
  5. 05MINOR5% royalty on $632K average revenue = $31.6K annual payment with unknown profit margins
  6. 06MED48-unit system is small and vulnerable; limited economies of scale and supplier negotiating power

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Specific Location
Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 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
Optional
Governing law
Illinois

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
22 hrs
On-the-job training
75 hrs
POS system
MicroSale POS
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

67 numbers

Locked
(231) 843-••••
MI
(212) 416-••••
NY
(808) 586-••••
HI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Big Apple Bagels · FDD (2026) PDF

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