Chefs For Seniors Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $17K – $27K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Chefs For Seniors is a senior-services franchise where personal chefs cook fresh, customized meals in seniors' homes each week. Franchisees run a service business managing chefs, client scheduling, and recurring meal-prep visits in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chefs For Seniors franchise requires a total initial investment of $17K – $27K, including a $10K – $17K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored4 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $17K – $27K
- 0th pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Projection
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 85th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 101
- 67th pct Senior Care
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Senior Care median · 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 $17K – $27K including a $10K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports service fee pricing per visit (not annual revenue) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 70/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +9 franchised outlets in the latest year (18 opened, 9 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports service fee pricing per visit (not annual revenue) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chefs For Seniors Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Chefs For Seniors, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Manager and Co-Founder / CEO
- Barrett E. Allman
- Incorporated in
- WI
- HQ
- 2169 Southern Ct., Cottage Grove, WI 53527
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.1M
- vs $898K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Barrett E. Allman
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 2013
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 36
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 84% below the typical senior care franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $10K | $10K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $500 | $2K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $7K | $16K |
| Total initial investment | $17K | $27K |
Source: Chefs For Seniors 2026 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
- $17K – $27K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $500 – $2K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $17K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $1K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Chefs For Seniors is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Chefs For Seniors unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported per transaction, not per outlet
- Item 19 type
- per-transaction figures
- Sample size
- 86
- vs category median 22 · large
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
Compared against 79 Senior Care brands
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 8.0% (near the Senior Care median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports service fee pricing per visit (not annual revenue) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 14.9% CAGR over 3 years across 101 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Senior Care medians
How Chefs For Seniors Compares
Category median of published Senior Care brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 101
- Opened
- 18
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 4
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 8.9%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +14.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +14.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 4
- Transferred
- 4
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.01 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 14
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 4.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 91.7%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 6.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 36 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
36
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
This franchise presents material risk due to complete lack of financial transparency, weak unit growth trajectory, and short contract terms that prevent informed investment decisions.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2025 total revenue of $1,053,017 comprised of royalties $535,907, advertising $289,966, franchise fees $225,820, and other income $1,324. Audited statements of CFSF for year ended December 31, 2025.
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 70 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDSlow unit growth of 9.9% YoY with only 101 units suggests limited brand traction or market saturation concerns
- 02MEDHigh royalty rate of 8% combined with undisclosed profitability makes break-even analysis impossible for prospective franchisees
- 03MINORShort 3-year term creates uncertainty in business planning and may indicate franchisor confidence issues or high turnover rates
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 3 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | WI |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 21 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 8 hrs
- Training location
- 821 E Washington Ave., Madison, WI (and remotely via Zoom)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 0 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Jobber
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Jobber
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
34 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chefs For Seniors franchise?
The total investment to open a Chefs For Seniors franchise ranges from $17K – $27K, with an initial franchise fee of $10K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chefs For Seniors franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Chefs For Seniors FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Chefs For Seniors?
Chefs For Seniors is franchised by Chefs For Seniors Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Chefs For Seniors, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Chefs For Seniors 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 Chefs For Seniors FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Chefs For Seniors's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Chefs For Seniors (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 Chefs For Seniors franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chefs For Seniors has 101 total units in the United States, including 100 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 18 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chefs For Seniors a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chefs For Seniors as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 70 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.