Bruster’s Real Ice CreamFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise requires a total initial investment of $409K – $2.6M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $745K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 2.4% charge-off rate across 85 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $409K – $2.6M
- 74th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $745K
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 206
- 82nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 2.4%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
At 0.5x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1993. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $409K – $2.6M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $745K/year (median $673K).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 56/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 2.4% across 85 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Bruster’s Limited Partnership
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 730 Mulberry Street, Bridgewater, Pennsylvania 15009
- Auditor
- H2R CPA
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.2M
- vs $9.8M prior year
Affiliated brands
- BICI
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate full-service ice cream shops serving premium handcrafted ice cream, frozen yogurt, and treats. Day-to-day operations include managing production/scooping, retail sales, inventory management, and seasonal staffing. Many locations operate as counter-service or small dining establishments with seasonal revenue volatility.
- CEO
- Jim Sahene
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 1993
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 23
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land Purchase | $275K | $750K | |
| Civil Engineering | $10K | $40K | |
| Site Development Costs | $375K | $637K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $20K | $40K | |
| Lease | $5K | $16K | |
| Utility Deposit | $500 | $1K | |
| Architect Fees | $8K | $17K | |
| Construction Costs | $267K | $634K | |
| Expenses for Initial Training | $3K | $6K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $500 | $3K | |
| Business Insurance | $5K | $8K | |
| Initial Inventory | $13K | $18K | |
| Computer Hardware & Software | $26K | $68K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment | $25K | $216K | |
| Signage | $7K | $30K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Program | $7K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $10K | |
| Post-Opening Support | $0 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $20K | $40K | |
| Development Fee | $60K | $80K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.1M | $2.6M |
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
$104K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
7%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
14.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $409K – $2.6M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $13K – $18K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $745K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $673K
- Item 19 type
- AUV
- Sample size
- 172 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $190K→$2.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $462K→$1.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Bruster’s Real Ice Cream Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 206
- Opened
- 17
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Turnover rate
- 2.4%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +6.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +10.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 13
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- New York
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 85
- Loan volume
- $53.0M
- Median loan
- $540K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 2.4%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 85.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 11.1%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 37
- Defaults
- 2
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
Bruster's presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to missing profitability disclosure, concerning going concern status, sluggish growth, and opaque financial returns despite reasonable royalty rates and protected territories.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Code; (b) obtained a discharge of its debts under the bankruptcy code; or (c) was a principal officer of a company or a general partner in a partnership that either filed as a debtor (or had filed against it) a petition to start an action under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or that obtained a
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · H2R CPA
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed - inability to validate $745k average revenue claim or actual profitability
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests potential financial instability at franchisor level, raising sustainability questions
- 03MINORSlow unit growth of 6.2% YoY indicates market saturation or franchisee struggles in a mature system of 206 units
- 04MINORWide investment range ($409k-$2.6M) with no net income disclosure creates uncertainty about actual ROI and payback period
- 05MINORModest 5% royalty may mask franchisor's financial weakness or indicate underfunding of support services
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 | 11 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius/Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 19 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 62 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- NCR Aloha Cloud
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha Cloud
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Bruster’s Real Ice Cream · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise?
The total investment to open a Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise ranges from $409K – $2.6M, 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 Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Bruster’s Real Ice Cream FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $745K. The median is $673K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Bruster’s Real Ice Cream's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream has a charge-off rate of 2.4% across 85 loans, meaning 2.4% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Bruster’s Real Ice Cream franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream has 206 total units in the United States, including 186 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 17 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Bruster’s Real Ice Cream a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bruster’s Real Ice Cream 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.
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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.