FranchiseVerdict
Chuck Lager Restaurant logo
FV-00536·CAUTIONExcellent81

Chuck Lager Restaurant

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2019Website
Investment
$1.1M – $3.9M
88th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.5%
50th pct Full Service
Units
4
20th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $1.1M – $3.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 74/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Chuck Lager’s Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
26 Easton Way, Hainesport, New Jersey 08036
Auditor
Haynie & Company
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$202K
vs $204K prior year

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 Chuck Lager Restaurant unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $1.1M–$3.9M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $50K–$100K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

5%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$116K
EBITDA margin
15.5%
Total invested
$2.6M
Payback
266 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Chuck Lager Restaurant franchisees operate casual dining establishments serving lager-centric beer and food offerings. Day-to-day operations include managing restaurant staff, inventory, food preparation, customer service, and local marketing while remitting 5.5% of gross sales to the franchisor.

CEO
Craig W. Colby
Founded
2016
FDD year
2023
States available
4

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$1.1M – $3.9M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$50K – $100K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
5.5%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
4
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
3
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
25%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2021
1+1
Franchised units
2022
1
Franchised units
2023
1
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 11 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 11 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
2
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

74
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION74 / 100

Micro-scale restaurant franchise with going concern issues, non-disclosure of profitability metrics, and extreme cost ambiguity presents material risk of franchisor failure and franchisee capital loss.

Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINOROnly 4 units system-wide indicates minimal scale, network support, and supply chain leverage
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosure prevents ROI validation and profitability assessment
  3. 03HIGHGoing Concern status = FALSE suggests franchisor financial instability or operational distress
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($1.05M–$3.95M) lacks transparency on what drives 276% cost variance
  5. 05MEDNo disclosed average net income makes it impossible to calculate payback period or break-even timeline
  6. 06MINORMicro-franchise system (4 units) creates high risk of system collapse if even one unit fails
  7. 07MEDUnknown unit growth trajectory signals either stagnation or undisclosed closures
  8. 08MINOR15-year term locks franchisee into relationship with unstable franchisor for extended period

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
15 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
New Jersey

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
1 hrs
On-the-job training
429 hrs
POS system
Toast
Operating tech stack

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

12 numbers

Locked
(302) 547-••••
CL Wiregrass, LLC
DE
(808) 586-••••
HI
(303) 501-••••
CO

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Chuck Lager Restaurant · FDD (2023) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above