Chronic TacosFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chronic Tacos franchise requires a total initial investment of $284K – $884K, including a $30K franchise fee. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $858K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 25.0% charge-off rate across 15 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $284K – $884K
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $858K
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 31
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 25.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
25.0% of SBA loans charged off across 15 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 45 to 29 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $284K – $884K including a $30K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $858K/year (median $781K).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 25.0% across 15 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Chronic Tacos Enterprises, Inc.
- Parent company
- Calivan, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 95 Enterprise, Suite 320, Aliso Viejo, California 92656
- Auditor
- DNJ & ASSOCIATES
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.1M
- vs $2.0M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual taco restaurants serving customizable tacos, burritos, and related Mexican-inspired fare. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and local marketing while adhering to Chronic Tacos' brand standards and recipes. Franchisees manage 5-20 employees and handle P&L responsibility under a royalty-based model.
- CEO
- Michael Mohammed
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $234K | $804K |
| Total initial investment | $284K | $884K |
Source: Chronic Tacos 2024 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
$86K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
14%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $284K – $884K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 6% of Gross Sales or $600
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | greater of 6% of Gross Sales or $600/week |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $858K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $781K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 24 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $292K→$1.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $416K→$1.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Chronic Tacos Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 31
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Terminated
- 5
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 19.4%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -16.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -35.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Termination rate
- 19.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 25.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 15
- Loan volume
- $5.5M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 25.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 75.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Chronic Tacos's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 8 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 7 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 6-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 25.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Chronic Tacos presents HIGH RISK due to accelerating unit decline, missing financial disclosures, and unclear profitability metrics that prevent proper due diligence on a $284K-$884K investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Director of Sales and Founder Randy Wyner filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on October 26, 2016. Case: In re Wyner, No. 8:16-bk-14423-CB (C.D. Cal. 2016). Discharge entered February 13, 2017.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DNJ & ASSOCIATES
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 100 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 19.4% YoY (31 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI analysis and suggests franchisor may be hiding unfavorable profitability data
- 03MEDHigh investment range ($284K-$884K) combined with undisclosed net income creates unclear payback period and return visibility
- 04MINORRoyalty structure with $600 monthly minimum may be burdensome for underperforming locations, especially given average revenue of $858K
- 05MINOR10-year term is lengthy given system instability; difficult to exit if brand continues declining
- 06HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, which may indicate financial viability concerns at franchisor level
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 |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 157 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Auphan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Auphan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
51 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chronic Tacos · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chronic Tacos franchise?
The total investment to open a Chronic Tacos franchise ranges from $284K – $884K, 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 Chronic Tacos franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Chronic Tacos FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $858K. The median is $781K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Chronic Tacos's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Chronic Tacos has a charge-off rate of 25.0% across 15 loans, meaning 25.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Chronic Tacos franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chronic Tacos has 31 total units in the United States, including 45 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chronic Tacos a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chronic Tacos as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 100 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.