Buffalo Wild Wings GO
Bottom line
- Total investment $564K – $1.1M including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $19K/year (median $18K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 67/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 6 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 1000.0% CAGR over 3 years with 140 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Buffalo Wild Wings GO unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
0%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Buffalo Wild Wings GO franchisees operate delivery-only or dark kitchen locations (no dine-in), fulfilling orders through third-party apps and direct channels. Day-to-day involves food prep, order fulfillment, driver coordination, and managing 3P platform relationships (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub). Success depends heavily on local delivery demand and commission costs.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rapidly scaling GO concept with pending litigation, non-disclosed profitability, and suspicious unit economics raises significant viability concerns for franchisees.
Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $18,821 avg revenue being suspiciously low for QSR/sports bar concept
- 02MINORAggressive unit growth (190.3% YoY) on only 140 units suggests rapid expansion without proven profitability model
- 03MINORThree separate class action lawsuits (one pending) indicate systemic marketing/operational compliance issues
- 04MED6% royalty on undisclosed net income creates opacity; franchisees cannot validate ROI against $564K-$1M investment
- 05MINORLow franchise fee ($30K) paired with high unit growth is classic predatory expansion model
- 06MINORGO format (ghost kitchen/delivery-only) is unproven model with thin margins vs. traditional B-Dubs
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
77 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Buffalo Wild Wings GO · FDD (2025) PDF