CinnaholicFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cinnaholic franchise requires a total initial investment of $241K – $527K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $313K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 57 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $241K – $527K
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $313K
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 83
- 71st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
Only 0.0% of 57 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 82 to 65 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $241K – $527K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $313K/year (median $300K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 69/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 57 loans (well below the 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
- Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- None
- CEO title
- CEO
- Daryl Dollinger
- CEO experience
- 2018 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 1567 Mt. Vernon Road, Suite 112, Atlanta, GA 30338
- Auditor
- MUHAMMAD ZUBAIRY, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.9M
- vs $3.5M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Cinnaholic Dunwoody
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Cinnaholic franchisees operate quick-service cinnamon roll bakery cafes, primarily focused on customizable baked goods and specialty beverages. Day-to-day operations involve food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and point-of-sale transactions in small-format retail locations.
- CEO
- Daryl Dollinger
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 23
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Rentnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Security Depositnot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Project Management Feenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Real Estate and Improvementsnot refundable | $75K | $220K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses while Trainingnot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Furnishings, Fixtures, Equipment and Decoratingnot refundable | $75K | $150K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Computer Hardware/Softwarenot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Technology Feenot refundable | $750 | $750 | |
| POS Service Feenot refundable | $537 | $537 | |
| Grand Openingnot refundable | $5K | $7K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $4K | $15K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costsnot refundable | $5K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $241K | $527K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$47K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $241K – $527K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $313K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $300K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 67 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $122K→$639K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Cinnaholic Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 83
- Opened
- 15
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 13
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 15.7%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +26.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 11
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 13.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 1.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 15.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 30 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Indiana
- Michigan
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 57
- Loan volume
- $14.4M
- Median loan
- $266K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 25
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Cinnaholic's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 57 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Cinnaholic presents CAUTION-level risk due to false going concern status, anemic unit growth, active litigation, undisclosed profitability, and leadership credibility issues that obscure true return potential on a $241k-$526k investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC v. Revel Systems Inc. (settled August 2024); Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC v. Calipto Foods, Inc. (dismissed May 2023); Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC v. Calipto Foods, Inc. and Philip Edwards - AAA Arbitration (concluded January 2024 with $42,234.22 award to Franchisor)
Largest disclosed settlement: $42,234
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Two involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions filed by BV Retail, LLC: (1) In re The S&Q Shack, LLC, No. 09-67151 (N.D. Georgia 2009) - placed into involuntary bankruptcy August 27, 2010; (2) In re Raving Brands, Inc., No. 09-68410 (N.D. Georgia 2009)
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · MUHAMMAD ZUBAIRY, CPA PC
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 69 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor may have material financial/operational uncertainty
- 02MINORStagnant unit growth at 2.5% YoY with only 83 units indicates struggling system expansion
- 03HIGHActive franchisor-initiated litigation against POS vendor and franchisee suggests operational/contractual conflicts
- 04MINORNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosure limits ability to validate $241k-$526k investment ROI
- 05HIGHPrior CEO litigation involving bankruptcy trustee raises governance and fiduciary credibility concerns
- 06MINORHigh franchise fee ($40k) relative to thin average revenue ($313.5k) creates margin pressure
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 | 1.5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | American Arbitration Association closest to our principal executive office |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC v. Revel Systems Inc. (settled August 2024); Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC v. Calipto Foods, Inc. (dismissed May 2023); Cinnaholic Franchising, LLC v. Calipto Foods, Inc. and Philip Edwards - AAA Arbitration (concluded January 2024 with $42,234.22 award to Franchisor)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 5 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 27 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
132 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cinnaholic · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cinnaholic franchise?
The total investment to open a Cinnaholic franchise ranges from $241K – $527K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Cinnaholic franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cinnaholic FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $313K. The median is $300K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cinnaholic's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Cinnaholic has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 57 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Cinnaholic franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cinnaholic has 83 total units in the United States, including 82 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 15 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cinnaholic a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cinnaholic as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 69 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.