Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters is a coffee franchise that roasts beans in-house and serves specialty espresso drinks and light fare. Franchisees run the cafes, managing roasting, baristas, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters franchise requires a total initial investment of $244K – $436K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 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 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $244K – $436K
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 3
- 15th 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 $244K – $436K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 21 financial statements are balance-sheet only (audited Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2024 and 2023); no income statement, so no franchisor revenue or net income is disclosed. 2024 owner's equity/total assets = $11,319 (all cash; zero liabilities); 2023 = $25,000.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chocolate Fish Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- Managing Member
- Ali Syed
- Incorporated in
- WY
- HQ
- 4749 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95819
- Auditor
- Omar Alnuaimi, CPA (Naperville, IL)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ali Syed
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 48% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $184K | $346K |
| Total initial investment | $244K | $436K |
Source: Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 2024 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
- $244K – $436K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $350 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 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 Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
29%
Below 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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 21 financial statements are balance-sheet only (audited Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2024 and 2023); no income statement, so no franchisor revenue or net income is disclosed. 2024 owner's equity/total assets = $11,319 (all cash; zero liabilities); 2023 = $25,000.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 3
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $589K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants 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 7.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
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 Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- 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
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
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
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
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
Early-stage micro-franchise with undisclosed profitability, franchisor going concern issues, and insufficient operating history to validate ROI.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Omar Alnuaimi, CPA (Naperville, IL)
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 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 3 units system-wide indicates minimal scale, unproven model, and high risk of franchisor viability
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests potential franchisor financial distress or uncertainty about business continuation
- 03MINOR6% royalty on unproven revenue model combined with $244K-$436K investment creates unclear payback timeline
- 04MEDExtremely limited franchisee pool (3 units) means minimal validation data and survivor bias in references
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 40,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Wyoming |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | WY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 33 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 29 hrs
- Training location
- Remotely, at corporate location, and at franchisee's location
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- POS/CRM system for Restaurants
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: POS/CRM system for Restaurants
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters franchise?
The total investment to open a Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters franchise ranges from $244K – $436K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters franchise owners earn?
Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 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 Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 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 Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters (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 Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters has 3 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 3 company-owned units.
Is Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters 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?
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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.