Black Rock Bar & Grill Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Black Rock Bar & Grill is a casual-dining franchise where guests cook steaks and entrees on sizzling hot volcanic stones, with a full bar. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, bar, and dining service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Black Rock Bar & Grill franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.5M – $5.0M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.4M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: F (Weakest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.5M – $5.0M
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.4M
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $1.5M – $5.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $3.4M/year (median $3.1M).
- RISKVerdict F (Weakest tier), verdict score 25/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sizzling Black Rock Steak House Franchising, Inc.
- Predecessor
- but we have three affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Lonny Morganroth
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 30553 S Wixom Road, Suite 300, Wixom, Michigan 48393
- Auditor
- Davis Group, P.A.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.4M
- vs $4.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- SBR Gift Cards
- Fountain Square Restaurant Holdings
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Lonny Morganroth
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 179% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Location Assistance Feenot refundable | $0 | $500 | |
| Delayed Opening Feenot refundable | $0 | $6K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $650K | $3.5M | |
| Lease Payments - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $56K | $100K | |
| Security Deposits | $22K | $36K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipmentnot refundable | $352K | $644K | |
| Signage (Interior and Exterior)not refundable | $13K | $32K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $80K | $100K | |
| Blueprints and Plansnot refundable | $22K | $50K | |
| Point of Sale Systemnot refundable | $27K | $50K | |
| Travel, lodging and meals for initial trainingnot refundable | $0 | $35K | |
| Insurance - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $6K | $26K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Licenses and Permits (Not Including Liquor License)not refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $229K | $345K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.5M | $5.0M |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.5M – $5.0M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $229K – $345K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $125 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $80K – $100K |
| 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.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 97% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$445K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Black Rock Bar & Grill unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
13%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Black Rock Bar & Grill units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
29.2%
3.60× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.77×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$9.4M
on $20.5M purchase
Total debt
$11.2M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $3.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $3.1M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Gross Sales
- Sample size
- 11
- vs category median 18
- Range (low → high)
- $2.0M→$5.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 805 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $3.4M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.1x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Full-Service Restaurants average of 7.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -26.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Black Rock Bar & Grill Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 12
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 45.5%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 92%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -26.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -26.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 5
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 13.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 78.6%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 20.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 4 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.
4
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Declining franchise system with active litigation, undisclosed profitability, and potential franchisor-franchisee relationship problems present substantial investment risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
Case 1: Franchisor filed suit against a franchisee and guarantors (Case No. 2:24-cv-10380, E.D. Michigan, Feb 2024) for trademark infringement and breach of franchise agreement; judgment obtained against franchisee. Case 2: Guarantor Franchise Holdings, LLC filed suit against franchisor in Florida state court (Case No. CACE-23-022807, Broward County) alleging tortious interference; franchisor defending.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Davis Group, P.A.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 25 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 21.4% YoY (12 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHActive litigation between franchisor and franchisees (trademark/breach suit + countersuit for tortious interference) signals operational/relationship issues
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed despite average revenue of $3.4M, raising profitability and transparency concerns
- 04MEDHigh investment range ($1.5M-$5M) combined with unit decline creates unfavorable risk-reward profile
- 05MINORCountersuit alleging tortious interference suggests franchisor may have damaged franchisee business relationships or operations
- 06MINORNo going concern statement indicates financial stability questions at corporate level
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Michigan (county and state of franchisor's principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Case 1: Franchisor filed suit against a franchisee and guarantors (Case No. 2:24-cv-10380, E.D. Michigan, Feb 2024) for trademark infringement and breach of franchise agreement; judgment obtained against franchisee. Case 2: Guarantor Franchise Holdings, LLC filed suit against franchisor in Florida state court (Case No. CACE-23-022807, Broward County) alleging tortious interference; franchisor defending.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 163 hrs
- Training location
- Hartland, Michigan or Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha (NCR)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha (NCR)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
12 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Black Rock Bar & Grill · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Black Rock Bar & Grill franchise?
The total investment to open a Black Rock Bar & Grill franchise ranges from $1.5M – $5.0M, 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 Black Rock Bar & Grill franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Black Rock Bar & Grill FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.4M. The median is $3.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Black Rock Bar & Grill FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Black Rock Bar & Grill FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Black Rock Bar & Grill's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Black Rock Bar & Grill (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 Black Rock Bar & Grill franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Black Rock Bar & Grill has 12 total units in the United States, including 11 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is Black Rock Bar & Grill a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Black Rock Bar & Grill as a F-grade franchise with a verdict score of 25 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
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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.