Cap't LouiFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CAP'T LOUI franchise requires a total initial investment of $463K – $1.8M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.1M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $463K – $1.8M
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- 21st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 23
- 28th 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
17% cash-on-cash return. Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $463K – $1.8M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $2.0M), with an estimated 17% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 26/100.
- System growing at 50.0% CAGR over 3 years with 23 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- CAPT LOUI, LLC
- Predecessor
- Our predecessor
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 73 Dewey Street, Garfield, New Jersey 07026
- Auditor
- Optimus Financials, Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.5M
- vs $1.8M prior year
Affiliated brands
- InBoston
- Louistone
- Louifortlee
- Napkin Monster
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
CAP'T LOUI franchisees operate seafood casual-dining establishments, managing front-of-house operations, kitchen staff, inventory procurement, and customer service. Day-to-day responsibilities include food preparation oversight, staff scheduling, vendor relations, and ensuring brand compliance across location.
- CEO
- Henry Hyuk Kim
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 9
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 23 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Travel & Living Expenses while Training | $1K | $5K | |
| Real Estate/Rent | $5K | $80K | |
| Plans, Development & Leasehold Improvements & Construction | $250K | $1.0M | |
| Architect and Engineering Fees | $10K | $50K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures & Furniture | $50K | $200K | |
| Menus | $500 | $2K | |
| Computer, Electronics and Point of Sale Control System | $50 | $2K | |
| POS Monthly Software Fee | $380 | $780 | |
| Restaurant365 setup and quarterly fee | $5K | $5K | |
| Security deposits, utility deposits, business licenses and other prepaid expenses | $10K | $100K | |
| Business Class Internet Service | $100 | $300 | |
| Signage | $8K | $30K | |
| Initial Inventory | $20K | $30K | |
| Supplies & Misc. Expense | $2K | $4K | |
| Advertising/Promotion/Grand Opening Materials | $8K | $15K | |
| Insurance | $5K | $25K | |
| Liquor License (if applicable) | — | — | |
| Audio/Video/Surveillance System | $2K | $4K | |
| Smallwares | $2K | $4K | |
| Total initial investment | $528K | $1.9M |
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
$216K
10.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $463K – $1.8M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $200K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.5%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 5.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $25 |
| Total fee load | 9.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.0M
- Avg net income
- $198K
- Cash-on-cash
- 17.3%
- Based on Net Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Franchised and Affiliate-owned Units
- Sample size
- 15 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $996K→$3.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Cap't Loui Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 23
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 91%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +23.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +50.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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
CAP'T LOUI presents moderate-to-high risk due to unprotected territory, thin margins, opaque unit growth data, and absence of verified financial disclosures.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Optimus Financials, Inc.
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 26 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHNo disclosed going concern status despite $197K avg net income on $2.05M revenue (9.6% net margin is thin)
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and customer cannibalization between franchisees
- 03MINOR23.5% YoY growth masks potential unit churn — need breakdown of openings vs. closures to validate sustainability
- 04MINOR4.5% royalty + operating costs could compress margins; unclear if $197K net includes all fees and debt service
- 05MINORInvestment range spans 292% variance ($463K-$1.8M) indicating inconsistent startup costs or hidden variables
- 06MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations limits ability to validate claims
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Accepted Site |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 85 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 155 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Toast POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
CAP'T LOUI · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CAP'T LOUI franchise?
The total investment to open a CAP'T LOUI franchise ranges from $463K – $1.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CAP'T LOUI franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the CAP'T LOUI FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.1M. The median is $2.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is CAP'T LOUI's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CAP'T LOUI (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 CAP'T LOUI franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, CAP'T LOUI has 23 total units in the United States, including 14 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is CAP'T LOUI a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CAP'T LOUI as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 26 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent CAP'T LOUI, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Full-Service Restaurants category
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.