FranchiseVerdict
Broken Yolk Cafe logo
FV-00395·STRONGExcellent95

Broken Yolk Cafe

Formerly known as Backyard Carryout

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2010Website
Investment
$560K – $1.6M
71st pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$2.7M
49th pct Full Service
Royalty
4.5%
13th pct Full Service
Units
41
69th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $560K – $1.6M including a $20K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $2.7M/year (median $2.8M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 45/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
BYC Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
California
HQ
1851 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA 92109
Auditor
Baker Tilly US, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$5.1M
vs $5.9M 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 Broken Yolk Cafe unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $2,696,954
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: $560K–$1.6M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $90K–$160K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

37%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$458K
EBITDA margin
17.0%
Total invested
$1.2M
Payback
32 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 Broken Yolk Cafe units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

26.6%

3.25× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

3.10×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$13.9M

on $27.0M purchase

Total debt

$13.1M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($13.5M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate casual breakfast and brunch-focused cafes featuring American comfort food, with daily responsibilities including kitchen management, food cost control, staff scheduling, and customer service. The business model emphasizes high-volume, lower-margin dining with operational complexity around food preparation, inventory management, and seasonal demand fluctuations typical of full-service restaurants.

CEO
John Gelastopoulos
Founded
2010
FDD year
2026
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$560K – $1.6M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$90K – $160K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$20K
Royalty
4.5%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$2.7M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$2.8M
Item 19 type
Actual
Sample size
38 units
vs category median 15 · large
Range (low → high)
$892K$5.1M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank49th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank71th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank13th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank69th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank9th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
41
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+2.6%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+8.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2024
40+1
Franchised units
2025
39
Franchised units
2026
37
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 5 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 · 5 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
12
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

45
Risk · 0-100
STRONG45 / 100

Broken Yolk Cafe presents moderate-to-cautionary risk: stagnant unit growth, regulatory history, high capital requirements, and non-transparent profitability metrics warrant deep validation before commitment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $2.7M average revenue — suggests underperformance or inconsistency across units
  2. 02MINORStagnant unit growth of only 2.6% YoY with 41 units indicates mature/declining system with minimal expansion
  3. 03MINOR2021 DFPI Consent Order reveals historical compliance failures (unregistered franchises 2005-2008) and regulatory scrutiny
  4. 04MEDHigh investment range ($560K-$1.6M) paired with undisclosed profitability creates uncertainty on ROI and break-even timelines
  5. 05MED20-year term locks franchisees into long commitment with limited exit flexibility in slow-growth system

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/Population
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
20 years
Renewal term
20 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
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
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
44 hrs
On-the-job training
116 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

43 numbers

Locked
(657) 231-••••
CA
(725) 205-••••
NV
(909) 593-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Broken Yolk Cafe · FDD (2026) PDF

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