Chill-N Nitrogen Ice CreamFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise requires a total initial investment of $462K – $679K, including a $39K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $673K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $462K – $679K
- 79th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $673K
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
19% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $462K – $679K including a $39K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $673K/year, with an estimated 19% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 48/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- David Leonardo
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3051 NW 75th Avenue, Miami, FL 33122
- Auditor
- DJJCPA, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $130K
- vs $377K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service ice cream shops featuring nitrogen-frozen desserts. Day-to-day operations include preparing and serving custom ice cream products, managing POS systems, staffing counter/production, inventory management, and local marketing to drive foot traffic in their protected territory.
- CEO
- David Leonardo
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $39K | $39K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $408K | $600K |
| Total initial investment | $462K | $679K |
Source: Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream 2022 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$94K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $462K – $679K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $39K – $39K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 5.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $150 |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $673K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $109K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 19.0%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Company-Owned
- Sample size
- 5 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $561K→$785K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $1.3M
- Median loan
- $91K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 1 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 2 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 1-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Micro-franchise system with unproven unit economics, missing financial disclosures, and franchisor stability concerns outweigh the protected territory advantage.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DJJCPA, LLC
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 48 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 5 units in system with unknown growth trajectory indicates minimal scale and market validation
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests franchisor financial instability or operational uncertainty
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) disclosed — cannot verify if $657,949 avg revenue or $108,697 net income are achievable
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($462k-$679k) paired with only 5 existing units creates validation risk
- 05MINOR16.4% net margin (108,697/657,949) is thin for food service and may not sustain royalties, labor costs, and rent
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 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 40,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 18 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 30 hrs
- Training location
- Miami, Florida, or another location we designate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 30 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 1 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream · FDD (2022) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise?
The total investment to open a Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise ranges from $462K – $679K, with an initial franchise fee of $39K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $673K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream (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 Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chill-N Nitrogen Ice Cream as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 48 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.
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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.