Café 86Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Café 86 franchise requires a total initial investment of $230K – $468K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $230K – $468K
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 17
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $230K – $468K including a $45K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 67/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Café 86 Franchise Corporation
- CEO title
- CEO/Member
- Jennifer Dimapasok
- CEO experience
- 10 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 1883 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd., Altoona, PA 16602
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.7M
- vs $3.0M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Café 86 franchisees operate coffee and beverage-focused café locations, likely handling daily inventory management, staff scheduling, customer service, and point-of-sale operations. Day-to-day activities include preparing/serving food and beverages, managing labor costs, and driving local marketing within their protected territory.
- CEO
- Jennifer Dimapasok
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $35K | $70K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $150K | $353K |
| Total initial investment | $230K | $468K |
Source: Café 86 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $230K – $468K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $70K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $850 |
| Training fee | $350 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Café 86 Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 17
- Opened
- 7
- 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
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 59%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 11
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 11.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
Early-stage café franchise with explosive growth, zero financial transparency, and high capital requirements presents significant viability and profitability risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 67 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average unit revenue and profitability completely hidden)
- 02MINORExplosive unit growth of 233% YoY suggests either unsustainable scaling or aggressive recruitment masking underlying weakness
- 03MINORHigh initial investment range ($229.5K-$467.7K) without transparent earnings data creates profitability uncertainty
- 04MEDOnly 17 units total indicates very early-stage system with limited track record and high failure risk
- 05MED6% royalty on undisclosed gross sales means franchisees cannot validate ROI projections
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 |
|---|---|
| Territory type | Radius or other boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Altoona, Pennsylvania |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 96 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 80 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 8 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- POS/CRM system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: POS/CRM system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
14 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Café 86 · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Café 86 franchise?
The total investment to open a Café 86 franchise ranges from $230K – $468K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Café 86 franchise owners earn?
Café 86 does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Café 86's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Café 86 (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 Café 86 franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Café 86 has 17 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 7 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Café 86 a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Café 86 as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 67 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.