Black Rock Bar & GrillFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
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]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.5M – $5.0M
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.4M
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 23rd 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 15 to 11 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.5M – $5.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.4M/year (median $3.1M).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 93/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Sizzling Black Rock Steak House Franchising, Inc.
- Predecessor
- but we have three affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 30553 S Wixom Road, Suite 300, Wixom, Michigan 48393
- Auditor
- Davis Group, P.A.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.4M
- vs $3.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- SBR Gift Cards
- Fountain Square Restaurant Holdings
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Black Rock Bar & Grill franchisees operate full-service casual dining restaurants featuring grilled cuisine, alcoholic beverages, and bar services. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and front-of-house staff, inventory control, customer service, food preparation and plating, and ensuring compliance with local health and liquor licensing regulations.
- CEO
- Lonny Morganroth
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 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.
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
$411K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.5M – $5.0M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $229K – $345K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- 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 | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| 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
- $3.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $3.1M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 11 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $2.0M→$5.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Black Rock Bar & Grill Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 12
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Turnover rate
- 25.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 92%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -21.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -26.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- 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 20 · 14 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
Declining franchise system with active litigation, undisclosed profitability, and potential franchisor-franchisee relationship problems present substantial investment risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
2 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
BANKRUPTCY ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 93 / 100 rating
- 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
- 06HIGHNo going concern statement indicates financial stability questions at corporate level
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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
2 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 163 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
15 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 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 15 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 risk score of 93 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.