Chopt Creative Salad Company®
Bottom line
- Total investment $870K – $1.6M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.8M).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 23 loans (below the industry average).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
25%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
31.2%
3.88× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.58×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$7.4M
on $17.7M purchase
Total debt
$10.3M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual salad restaurants where customers build custom salads and bowls from fresh ingredients. Daily operations include food prep, inventory management, customer service, and staffing 8-12 employees. The model targets health-conscious consumers seeking customizable, premium ingredients.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Undisclosed profitability metrics, parent company going concern issues, active litigation history, and stagnant unit growth create significant due diligence gaps and financial transparency concerns.
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates parent company financial distress or accounting irregularities
- 02MEDNet Income not disclosed in Item 19 — prevents accurate ROI analysis and profitability verification
- 03HIGHDeceptive marketing litigation (2022-2023) with confidential settlement — reputational risk and undisclosed terms
- 04MINORUnit count stagnant at 94 with unknown growth trajectory — suggests market saturation or underperformance
- 05MINORHigh investment ceiling ($1.58M) with only $40K franchise fee — indicates capital-intensive operations with unclear returns
- 06MED5% royalty on gross sales (not net) — ongoing fees reduce already-undisclosed margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
7 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® · FDD (2025) PDF