Binghamton HOTSFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Binghamton HOTS franchise requires a total initial investment of $142K – $253K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2023 FDD, average unit revenue was $702K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2023 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $142K – $253K
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $702K
- 5th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 2nd 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
Each dollar invested generates 3.6x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Bottom line
- Total investment $142K – $253K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $702K/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 39/100.
- Revenue data based on only 1 reporting unit. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Hots Franchise Group, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- D. Whalen Holdings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 128 Washington Street, Binghamton, New York 13901
- Auditor
- Ernest Skiadas
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
Overview
About
Binghamton HOTS appears to be a fast-casual restaurant or food service concept, likely involving counter service, food preparation, and customer-facing operations. Franchisees manage daily operations including inventory, staff scheduling, food quality control, and local marketing to drive foot traffic and sales in their protected territory.
- CEO
- David Whalen Jr.
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 0
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Rent - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $5K | $11K | |
| Lease & Utility Security Deposit | $3K | $4K | |
| Design & Architect Feesnot refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $30K | $75K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $1K | $4K | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixturesnot refundable | $35K | $65K | |
| Point of Sale & Computer Equipmentnot refundable | $4K | $5K | |
| Business Licenses & Permits (Not Including Beer & Wine License)not refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $4K | $6K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Marketingnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Technology Fee - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $300 | $300 | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $20K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $142K | $253K |
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
$88K
12.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
39%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
31 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $142K – $253K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
A 5.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $702K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Actual Sales
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Transparency
- 5 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Binghamton HOTS Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
This is a nascent, financially opaque single-unit franchise system with concerning going concern indicators and no demonstrated scalability or franchisee profitability validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernest Skiadas
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 39 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial distress or instability at corporate level
- 02MINOROnly 1 unit in system — extreme lack of scalability, no franchise network momentum, high risk of system collapse
- 03MEDNet Income not disclosed — inability to verify actual profitability claims; only gross revenue of $701,719 is available
- 04MINORNo growth trajectory data — single unit provides no evidence of system expansion or franchisee success replication
- 05MINORHigh investment range relative to single-unit data — $141,775–$253,075 investment with unverified profitability metrics
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 or Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Territory population | 30,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Broome 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 this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Binghamton HOTS · FDD (2023) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Binghamton HOTS franchise?
The total investment to open a Binghamton HOTS franchise ranges from $142K – $253K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Binghamton HOTS franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Binghamton HOTS FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $702K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Binghamton HOTS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Binghamton HOTS (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 Binghamton HOTS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Binghamton HOTS has 1 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is Binghamton HOTS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Binghamton HOTS as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 39 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.