California TortillaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A California Tortilla franchise requires a total initial investment of $444K – $837K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $935K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 40.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $444K – $837K
- 77th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $935K
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 27
- 51st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 40.0%
- 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
40.0% of SBA loans charged off across 22 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 31 to 8 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
20% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $444K – $837K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $935K/year (median $869K), with an estimated 20% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 80/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 40.0% across 22 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -38.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- California Tortilla Group, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- MD
- HQ
- 7825 Tuckerman Lane, Suite 214, Potomac, Maryland 20854
- Auditor
- Adeptus Partners, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.4M
- vs $1.3M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Caltort Development
- Southern Sauces
- CT Bethesda
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
California Tortilla franchisees operate quick-service restaurant locations specializing in customizable Mexican fare (burritos, tacos, bowls). Day-to-day operations include food prep, customer service, inventory management, staff scheduling, and local marketing to drive the $935K average annual revenue.
- CEO
- Robert A. Phillips
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2003
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Real Estate; Site Evaluation; Prepaid Rent and Security Deposit | $19K | $30K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $175K | $300K | |
| Signage | $20K | $30K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $120K | $295K | |
| Computers and Equipment | $8K | $10K | |
| Initial Inventory & Restaurant Supplies | $8K | $15K | |
| Smallwares | $14K | $20K | |
| Uniforms | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $2K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training | $0 | $7K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $8K | $10K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $15K | $45K | |
| Additional Funds (3 Months) | $15K | $30K | |
| Development Fee (Area Development Agreement)not refundable | $25K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $469K | $877K |
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
$140K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $444K – $837K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 5.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $935K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $869K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $129K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.1%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 27 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $483K→$2.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How California Tortilla Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 27
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Turnover rate
- 25.9%
- Company-owned
- 8
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 70%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -34.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -38.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 22
- Loan volume
- $7.4M
- Median loan
- $351K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 40.0%
- 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)
- 60.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 8
Vintage analysis
California Tortilla charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into California Tortilla's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 7 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 14-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 40.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
California Tortilla presents high risk due to catastrophic 34.5% unit decline, absence of financial performance data, false going concern status, and thin margins that may not support initial investment recovery.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $125,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Adeptus Partners, LLC
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 80 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count collapsed 34.5% YoY (27 units remaining) — severe system contraction indicating franchisee failures or brand decline
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) disclosed — cannot verify if $935K avg revenue is achievable or representative
- 03HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests franchisor may lack financial stability or confidence in long-term viability
- 04MINORThin unit margins: $128.7K net income on $935K revenue (13.8% net margin) leaves minimal buffer for underperformance
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($443.7K-$836.5K) relative to average net income ($128.7K) = 3.4-6.5 year payback before accounting for debt service
- 06HIGHNo litigation disclosed but massive unit decline suggests systemic operational or support failures not yet formalized
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 |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| 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 | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 37 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 163 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Par POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Par POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
46 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
California Tortilla · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a California Tortilla franchise?
The total investment to open a California Tortilla franchise ranges from $444K – $837K, 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 California Tortilla franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the California Tortilla FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $935K. The median is $869K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is California Tortilla's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, California Tortilla has a charge-off rate of 40.0% across 22 loans, meaning 40.0% 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 California Tortilla franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, California Tortilla has 27 total units in the United States, including 31 franchised units and 8 company-owned units.
Is California Tortilla a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates California Tortilla as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 80 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.