Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & BarFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.3M – $4.0M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.7M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.3M – $4.0M
- 45th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 28
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
Franchised units fell from 19 to 9 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
16% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.3M – $4.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.7M/year, with an estimated 16% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 17/100.
- System growing at 111.1% CAGR over 3 years with 28 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- BIG WHISKEY’S FRANCHISING, LLC
- CEO title
- President
- James Austin Herschend
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MO
- HQ
- 4101 N. State Highway NN, Suite 105, Ozark, Missouri 65721
- Auditor
- FORVIS, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.0M
- vs $1.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual American restaurants featuring whiskey-focused bar programs, full-service dining, and entertainment (live music/events). Day-to-day operations include managing 50–150+ staff, inventory, licensing compliance, food/beverage cost control, event marketing, and local brand presence in protected territories.
- CEO
- James Austin Herschend
- Headquarters
- MO
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Rent - 3 months | $20K | $38K | |
| Training | $75K | $163K | |
| Leasehold Improvements / Construction | $600K | $2.4M | |
| Restaurant Equipment | $105K | $450K | |
| Furniture | $70K | $130K | |
| Audio Visual Equipment | $60K | $140K | |
| Signage | $80K | $230K | |
| Opening Inventory | $50K | $70K | |
| Lease, Utility and Security Deposits | $6K | $50K | |
| Design and Architectural Fees | $40K | $90K | |
| Liquor Licenses | $1K | $2K | |
| Opening Marketing | $10K | $15K | |
| Insurance | $8K | $20K | |
| Computer, Back Office and POS System | $25K | $50K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $2K | $4K | |
| Professional Fees including real estate broker fees | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $60K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.3M | $4.0M |
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
$326K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.3M – $4.0M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $100K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Adjusted Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 6.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $900 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $422K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 16.0%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Operating Full Calendar Year
- Sample size
- 12 units
- vs category median 13
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 28
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 68%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +46.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +111.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 8
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 146.2%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
Rapidly expanding casual dining franchise with undisclosed unit-level financials, high capital requirements, and a small but accelerating unit base creates moderate-to-high execution risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · FORVIS, LLP
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 17 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representation disclosed — cannot independently verify the $2.7M average revenue claim across all 28 units
- 02MINORExplosive 46.2% YoY unit growth is unsustainable and may indicate aggressive recruitment masking underlying unit economics or franchisee struggles
- 03MINORHigh capital requirement ($1.27M–$4M) combined with 5% royalty creates significant fixed cost burden; breakeven analysis unclear
- 04MEDOnly 28 units system-wide suggests limited track record and vulnerability to market downturns or leadership changes
- 05MINORFranchise fee ($50K) is low relative to investment size, which may reflect weak brand equity or underpricing to drive recruitment
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius/Zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Missouri |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 319 hrs
- Training location
- franchisor offices or designated locations
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar franchise?
The total investment to open a Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar franchise ranges from $1.3M – $4.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar (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 Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar has 28 total units in the United States, including 19 franchised units and 9 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 17 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.