FranchiseVerdict
Biscuit Belly logo
FV-00313·STRONGExcellent91

Biscuit Belly

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2020Website
Investment
$824K – $1.3M
83rd pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.3M
28th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
13
47th pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $824K – $1.3M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.3M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100.
  • 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
Biscuit Belly Franchising LLC
Parent company
Biscuit Belly International, LLC
Incorporated in
Kentucky
HQ
2600 Valley Vista Rd, Louisville, KY 40205
Auditor
Clark, Schaefer, Hackett & Co.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$438K
vs $558K 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 Biscuit Belly unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,330,924
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: $824K–$1.3M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$40K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

20%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$226K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$1.1M
Payback
59 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 Biscuit Belly units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

37.2%

4.86× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.23×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$4.3M

on $13.3M purchase

Total debt

$9.0M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($6.7M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Biscuit Belly franchisees operate casual fast-service restaurants specializing in biscuits and breakfast/comfort food offerings. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staff scheduling, point-of-sale management, and customer service in a quick-service format with limited seating.

CEO
Chad Coulter
Founded
2020
FDD year
2025
States available
6

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$824K – $1.3M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $40K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.3M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.3M
Item 19 type
Gross Receipts
Sample size
8 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$1.0M$1.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank28th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank83th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank47th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank18th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
13
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
7
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
46%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
5.9%
Net growth (yr3)
+20.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+200.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
6+1
Franchised units
2024
5
Franchised units
2025
2
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 8 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 · 8 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

52
Risk · 0-100
STRONG52 / 100

Modest growth and protected territory are positive, but undisclosed net income and high investment-to-revenue ratio create profitability uncertainty that warrants careful validation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to verify actual profitability against $824K-$1.34M investment
  2. 02MINORSmall franchise system with only 13 units limits brand recognition and support infrastructure scalability
  3. 03MEDHigh initial investment ($824K-$1.34M) relative to disclosed average revenue ($1.33M) creates tight margin for error
  4. 04MINOR20% YoY growth in unit count is solid but still relatively modest for franchise viability proof
  5. 05MINORLack of Item 19 financial performance representation increases due diligence burden on prospective franchisees

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population
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
Kentucky

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
30 hrs
On-the-job training
189 hrs

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

13 numbers

Locked
(213) 576-••••
Suite
CA
(706) 255-••••
The franchisor is Biscuit Belly Franchising LLC,
KY
(415) 972-••••
One Sansome Street, Ste.
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included