City Brew Tours
Bottom line
- Total investment $76K – $100K including a $38K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $160K/year (median $133K).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 4 loans (below the industry average).
- No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
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 City Brew Tours unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
26%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 City Brew Tours units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$288K
on $1.4M purchase
Total debt
$1.2M
SBA $0.7M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate guided brewery and craft beverage tasting tours in their territory, typically managing group bookings, coordinating logistics with local breweries, and leading educational tours. Day-to-day work involves marketing/sales acquisition, tour operations, customer service, and managing independent contractor guides or staff.
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 · 17 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
City Brew Tours presents meaningful risk due to undisclosed profitability, stagnant unit growth, unprotected territory, and high capital requirements relative to revenue visibility.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure despite $159,725 average revenue — profitability opaque and concerning
- 02MINOROnly 16 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnation or contraction in system
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees in same market
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($76,200-$99,500) relative to disclosed revenue with no income guarantee
- 05MINOR7-year term is relatively short; rebuilding customer base difficult if territory unprotected
- 06MINORRoyalty range of 5.5-8.5% varies widely, indicating unclear fee structure or tiered performance
- 07HIGHNo disclosed litigation history is unusual and may indicate incomplete disclosure
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
17 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
City Brew Tours · FDD (2023) PDF