Bobby Chez CrabcakesFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bobby Chez Crabcakes franchise requires a total initial investment of $249K – $498K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $990K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $249K – $498K
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $990K
- 9th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 10th 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
Bottom line
- Total investment $249K – $498K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $990K/year (median $1.0M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 44/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Bobby Chez Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Franchise Founders 1, LLC
- CEO title
- CEO
- Matt Friedman
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 1991 Marlton Pike East, #11, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003
- Auditor
- JPizars – CPA & Business Consultants LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual seafood restaurants specializing in crab cakes, likely managing daily food prep, kitchen operations, front-of-house service, inventory management, and local marketing. The business model is location-dependent food service with moderate operational complexity and commodity cost exposure.
- CEO
- Matt Friedman
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Real Estate Rent Deposits and Pre-Paid Expenses | $5K | $15K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Initial Marketing Investmentnot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Fixtures & Furnishingsnot refundable | $20K | $30K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Food Service Equipmentnot refundable | $60K | $120K | |
| Computers, Hardware and Softwarenot refundable | $8K | $9K | |
| Bobby Chez Crabcakes Restaurant Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $55K | $180K | |
| Inventory and Suppliesnot refundable | $10K | $15K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| License, Permits and other Licensesnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $2K | $7K | |
| Architectural/Engineering Feesnot refundable | $8K | $18K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $20K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $249K | $498K |
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
$109K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
27%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $249K – $498K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $450 |
| Training fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $990K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.0M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 4 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $729K→$1.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Bobby Chez Crabcakes Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 10
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Tiny, financially distressed franchisor with non-transparent unit economics and going concern warnings makes this a high-risk bet on an unproven business model.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · JPizars – CPA & Business Consultants LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates franchisor financial distress or operational instability
- 02MEDNet Income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to assess actual profitability; average revenue of $990k means little without expense breakdown
- 03MEDOnly 4 units system-wide — extremely small franchise with no disclosed growth trajectory; high risk of system collapse
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($249k-$498k) relative to unit count suggests franchisor may be financing growth through franchisees rather than organic expansion
- 05MINOR5% weekly royalty on gross sales (not net) — franchisees pay royalties even during unprofitable weeks, compounding cash flow risk
- 06HIGHNo litigation disclosed but Going Concern status suggests underlying financial/operational problems not yet litigated
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 55 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Revel
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Bobby Chez Crabcakes · FDD (2022) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bobby Chez Crabcakes franchise?
The total investment to open a Bobby Chez Crabcakes franchise ranges from $249K – $498K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bobby Chez Crabcakes franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Bobby Chez Crabcakes FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $990K. The median is $1.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Bobby Chez Crabcakes's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Bobby Chez Crabcakes (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 Bobby Chez Crabcakes franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bobby Chez Crabcakes has 4 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 4 company-owned units.
Is Bobby Chez Crabcakes a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bobby Chez Crabcakes as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 44 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.
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.