FranchiseVerdict
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FV-00325·MODERATEExcellent81

Blimpie

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 1977Website
Investment
$90K – $589K
5th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
Units
101
83rd pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $90K – $589K including a $18K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 644 loans (below the industry average).
  • 20 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Kahala Franchising, L.L.C.
Parent company
MTY Franchising USA, Inc.
Incorporated in
Arizona
HQ
9311 E. Via De Ventura, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$263.7M
vs $597.5M 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 Blimpie unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $90K–$589K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

27%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$98K
EBITDA margin
13.0%
Total invested
$357K
Payback
44 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate quick-service submarine sandwich restaurants branded as Blimpie, managing food preparation, customer service, inventory, and staffing. Daily operations include sandwich preparation, point-of-sale transactions, food safety compliance, and local marketing. Franchisees typically work on-site or hire managers to oversee the business, competing in a saturated quick-service restaurant segment.

CEO
Eric Lefebvre
Founded
2008
FDD year
2025
States available
24

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$90K – $589K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$18K
Royalty
the greater of (i) 6% of total weekly Gross Sales or (ii)…
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
10.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
101
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
8
Turnover rate
7.9%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
96%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-6.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-14.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
97-7
Franchised units
2024
104
Franchised units
2025
114
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 26 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
Available · 26 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.

Total loans
644
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

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

Risk & Legal

64
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE64 / 100

Blimpie presents high risk: a contracting system (-6.7% YoY) with undisclosed financials, active litigation across parent company MTY USA, no territory protection, and heavy royalty obligations on a declining brand—characteristics typical of franchises in distress.

Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-6.7% YoY with only 101 locations) suggests system contraction and weak franchisee retention
  2. 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) prevents financial viability assessment and indicates potential franchisor concern
  3. 03HIGHMultiple active litigation cases involving breach of contract, misrepresentation, and FIPA violations across MTY USA portfolio suggest systemic compliance and integrity issues
  4. 04MINORHigh royalty burden with $300/week minimum ($15,600 annually) plus 6% of gross sales creates significant fixed costs on declining brand
  5. 05MINORUnprotected territory means franchisees face direct competition from other Blimpie franchisees with no geographic exclusivity
  6. 06HIGHGoing concern is FALSE, indicating the franchisor may have disclosed material uncertainty about business continuity
  7. 07MINORWide investment range ($89,780–$588,750) suggests inconsistent buildout costs and unclear capital requirements
  8. 08MINOR10-year term is lengthy given system's deterioration trajectory and lack of performance transparency

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
20
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
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
60 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

100 numbers

Locked
(828) 452-••••
NC
(507) 237-••••
MN
(860) 688-••••
CT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Blimpie · FDD (2025) PDF

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