Brain Tune CaféFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Brain Tune Café franchise requires a total initial investment of $213K – $291K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $229K[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $213K – $291K
- 35th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $229K
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 7
- 29th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
25% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $213K – $291K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $229K/year, with an estimated 25% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 56/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Brain Tune Cafe, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Brain Products, LLC
- CEO experience
- 15 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- WY
- HQ
- 30 N Gould Street, Suite 4000, Sheridan, WY 82801
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Audited financials
Overview
About
Brain Tune Café franchisees operate specialized cafés combining beverage/food service with cognitive training, brain health products, and wellness services. Day-to-day operations include customer service, product inventory management, facilitation of brain training programs or workshops, and potentially staff management depending on location size.
- Headquarters
- WY
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $35K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $148K | $216K |
| Total initial investment | $213K | $291K |
Source: Brain Tune Café 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$37K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
13%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $213K – $291K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| 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
- $229K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg ebitda
- $64K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 25.3%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- ebitda
- Sample size
- 3 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $201K→$257K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Brain Tune Café Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 7
- Opened
- 5
- 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
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 28.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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
Micro-franchise system with going concern status, undisclosed unit performance data, and suspiciously high reported margins requires extensive validation before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Two co-owners filed personal Chapter 7 bankruptcies: (1) R Keerthy Sunder - Case No. 6:19-bk-11190-WJ, filed May 3, 2017, discharged May 2019; (2) Gurpreet Singh - Case No. 6:20-bk-13974-MH, filed May 3, 2017, discharged September 2020. Both cases in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group PLLC
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern warning indicates the franchisor may have financial viability issues despite not disclosing litigation
- 02MEDOnly 7 units system-wide suggests minimal scale, limited support infrastructure, and unknown/stagnant growth trajectory
- 03MINORAverage net income of $63,792.92 on $231,546 revenue (27.5% net margin) is exceptionally high and potentially unrealistic—warrants verification of accounting methodology
- 04MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed—franchisor unwilling to substantiate the claimed averages
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($213,300–$291,400) relative to system size creates risk if franchisor lacks operational stability
- 06MED5% royalty on gross revenue (not net) compounds risk if unit-level profitability declines
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 |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wyoming |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 27 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 36 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Brain Tune Café · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Brain Tune Café franchise?
The total investment to open a Brain Tune Café franchise ranges from $213K – $291K, 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 Brain Tune Café franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Brain Tune Café FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $229K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Brain Tune Café's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Brain Tune Café (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 Brain Tune Café franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Brain Tune Café has 7 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Brain Tune Café a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Brain Tune Café as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 56 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.