CaliFries Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
CaliFries is a quick-service franchise serving loaded specialty fries and potato-based dishes. Franchisees run the restaurants and kiosks, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CaliFries franchise requires a total initial investment of $156K – $252K, including a $38K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $156K – $252K
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 0 outlets
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 0
- 0th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $156K – $252K including a $38K franchise fee.
- RETURNSItem 21 audited financial statement exhibit (Exhibit A, Cali Fries Franchise, Inc.) pages are blank in the OCR text; no balance sheet, income statement, auditor name, or revenue figures are recoverable. Inception/startup FDD (entity formed Sep 19, 2024 as Tea for One, Inc.; renamed Cali Fries Franchise, Inc. May 13, 2025).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better).
- DATANo Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Cali Fries Franchise, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Tea for One, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and CEO
- James Zeng
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 3018 #B Alvarado Street, San Leandro, California 94577
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- James Zeng
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2024
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 0
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 69% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $38K | $38K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $108K | $184K |
| Total initial investment | $156K | $252K |
Source: CaliFries 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
- $156K – $252K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $38K – $38K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- $600 per month
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 2.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | $600 per month, prorated from franchise open date, paid on or before December 20 each year |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $16K |
| Total fee load | 2.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
CaliFries did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one CaliFries unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
47%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 21 audited financial statement exhibit (Exhibit A, Cali Fries Franchise, Inc.) pages are blank in the OCR text; no balance sheet, income statement, auditor name, or revenue figures are recoverable. Inception/startup FDD (entity formed Sep 19, 2024 as Tea for One, Inc.; renamed Cali Fries Franchise, Inc. May 13, 2025).
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 2.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How CaliFries Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 0
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
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.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
CaliFries presents extreme risk: zero operating units, missing financial disclosures, going concern warning, and weak unit economics suggest a pre-revenue or failing franchise system.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORZero operating units despite established franchise model—suggests system collapse, failed rollout, or severely understated opportunity
- 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed (missing Item 19)—impossible to validate ROI on $156K–$251K investment
- 03HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE—indicates material doubt about franchisor's financial viability or ability to support franchisees
- 04MINORUnprotected territory with only 3-year term—high cannibalization risk and vulnerability to franchisor opening competing units
- 05MINORLow $600/month royalty relative to $38K franchise fee suggests unsustainable unit economics or franchisor cash flow crisis
- 06MINORUnknown growth trajectory with zero franchises operating—no proof of concept, replicable model, or franchisee success
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 2.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 3 years |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 6 mi |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| 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 | 2 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Hayward, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 3 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 54 hrs
- Training location
- Hayward, California
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee_with_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Windows XP PRO or Windows 7 Professional PC system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Windows XP PRO or Windows 7 Professional PC system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
CaliFries · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CaliFries franchise?
The total investment to open a CaliFries franchise ranges from $156K – $252K, with an initial franchise fee of $38K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CaliFries franchise owners earn?
CaliFries 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 Item 19 in the CaliFries FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the CaliFries FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is CaliFries's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CaliFries (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.
Is CaliFries a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CaliFries as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 out of 100 (higher is better), 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent CaliFries, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.