FranchiseVerdict
Black Rock Bar & Grill logo
FV-00320·CAUTIONExcellent95

Black Rock Bar & Grill

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2014Website
Investment
$1.5M – $5.0M
94th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$3.4M
54th pct Full Service
Royalty
4.0%
6th pct Full Service
Units
12
45th pct Full Service
SBA default

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).
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Sizzling Black Rock Steak House Franchising, Inc.
Incorporated in
Michigan
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

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 Black Rock Bar & Grill unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $3,424,595
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: $1.5M–$5.0M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $229K–$345K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

16%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$582K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$3.5M
Payback
73 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 Black Rock Bar & Grill units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

25.0%

3.05× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

3.37×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$19.0M

on $34.2M purchase

Total debt

$15.3M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($17.1M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

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
Founded
2014
FDD year
2025
States available
4

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$1.5M – $5.0M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$229K – $345K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
4.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$3.4M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$3.1M
Item 19 type
Historical Average Gross Sales
Sample size
11 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$2.0M$5.4M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank54th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank94th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank6th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank45th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank84th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

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
2023
11-3
Franchised units
2024
14
Franchised units
2025
15
Franchised units

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).

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 · 14 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

72
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION72 / 100

Declining franchise system with active litigation, undisclosed profitability, and potential franchisor-franchisee relationship problems present substantial investment risk.

Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 21.4% YoY (12 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02HIGHActive litigation between franchisor and franchisees (trademark/breach suit + countersuit for tortious interference) signals operational/relationship issues
  3. 03MEDNet income not disclosed despite average revenue of $3.4M, raising profitability and transparency concerns
  4. 04MEDHigh investment range ($1.5M-$5M) combined with unit decline creates unfavorable risk-reward profile
  5. 05MINORCountersuit alleging tortious interference suggests franchisor may have damaged franchisee business relationships or operations
  6. 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

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
20 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
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
Optional
Governing law
Michigan

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
43 hrs
On-the-job training
163 hrs
POS system
Aloha
Operating tech stack

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

15 numbers

Locked
(360) 586-••••
WA
(605) 773-••••
SD
(651) 539-••••
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Black Rock Bar & Grill · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above