Bottom line
- Total investment $1.3M – $6.3M including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.3M/year (median $3.4M). Estimated payback in 6.9 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
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 Buona unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
15%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Buona units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
24.9%
3.04× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
3.40×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$19.5M
on $35.0M purchase
Total debt
$15.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Buona franchisees operate Italian beef sandwich shops and casual dining concepts, managing daily food preparation, customer service, inventory, and staffing. Operations typically involve counter-service or small dining room models focused on signature sandwiches and Italian cuisine.
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 · 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 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Undisclosed financial performance claims, franchisor viability concerns, and opaque unit economics create material investment uncertainty despite no active litigation.
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot verify if $551k avg net income is achievable or representative
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False indicates parent company financial instability or uncertainty about franchisor's viability
- 03MINORWide investment range ($1.3M–$6.3M) with no clarity on what drives 5x cost variance or unit profitability differences
- 04MINORUnknown unit growth trajectory — 31 units is small; no disclosure of growth rate, closures, or turnover
- 05MINORModest 16.5% net margin (551k/3.3M revenue) leaves little buffer for underperformance or economic downturn
- 06MED4% royalty + operating costs may compress margins further if sales decline or foot traffic drops
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
4 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Buona · FDD (2025) PDF