Cleanest Restaurant Group Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Cleanest Restaurant Group is a commercial cleaning franchise providing overnight deep cleaning for restaurants. Franchisees run the operations, managing crews, scheduling, and recurring restaurant accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cleanest Restaurant Group franchise requires a total initial investment of $103K – $144K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $103K – $144K
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 35th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 17
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $103K – $144K including a $60K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 also discloses per-"Recurrent Service Restaurant" (i.e., per commercial-cleaning client account, not whole franchise unit) Average/Median/Lowest/Highest Gross Sales figures for each Outlet in Tables 3 and 6 - these are per-account, not whole-unit revenue, and were excluded from avg/median/high/low fields per methodology.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 64/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Cleanest Restaurant Group Franchise Inc.
- Parent company
- None
- Predecessor
- None
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Howie Lemon Jr.
- Incorporated in
- New York
- HQ
- 40 West 37th Street, Suite 901, New York, New York 10018
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $229K
- vs $259K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Howie Lemon Jr.
- Headquarters
- New York
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 8
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 89% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $17K | $28K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $26K | $56K |
| Total initial investment | $103K | $144K |
Source: Cleanest Restaurant Group 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $103K – $144K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $17K – $28K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Cleanest Restaurant Group did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Cleanest Restaurant Group unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
36%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 also discloses per-"Recurrent Service Restaurant" (i.e., per commercial-cleaning client account, not whole franchise unit) Average/Median/Lowest/Highest Gross Sales figures for each Outlet in Tables 3 and 6 - these are per-account, not whole-unit revenue, and were excluded from avg/median/high/low fields per methodology.
- Item 19 type
- historical
- Sample size
- 8
- vs category median 18 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $97K→$950K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 805 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Full-Service Restaurants average of 7.6%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
System expanding at 900.0% CAGR over 3 years across 17 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Cleanest Restaurant Group Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 17
- Opened
- 15
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 7 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $1.0M
- Median loan
- $140K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (7 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Aggressive growth trajectory and implausible financial metrics warrant deep validation before investment; this appears to be an early-stage franchise system with significant execution risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExtreme unit growth of 150% YoY suggests either aggressive expansion or significant turnover; sustainability unclear with only 11 total units
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($102,686-$144,174) combined with 8% royalty requires $192,579+ annual revenue just to break even within 1-2 years, leaving minimal margin for error
- 03MEDNo disclosed litigation history in a restaurant group is unusual; may indicate under-reporting or new franchise system with insufficient operating history
- 04MINOROnly 11 units is extremely small; insufficient data to validate unit economics or franchise model viability across different markets
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 10 mi |
| Territory population | 300,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 30 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 9 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York County, New York (or the location nearest the franchisor's corporate headquarters at the time) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 8 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 115 hrs
- Training location
- New York, New York (classroom orientation); Franchisee's Operating Territory (on-the-job training)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 115 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (subject to franchisor approval)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Business Management System (proprietary, unbranded)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Business Management System (proprietary, unbranded)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
23 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cleanest Restaurant Group · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cleanest Restaurant Group franchise?
The total investment to open a Cleanest Restaurant Group franchise ranges from $103K – $144K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Cleanest Restaurant Group franchise owners earn?
Cleanest Restaurant Group does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Cleanest Restaurant Group FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Cleanest Restaurant Group FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Cleanest Restaurant Group's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cleanest Restaurant Group (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Cleanest Restaurant Group franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cleanest Restaurant Group has 17 total units in the United States, including 16 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 15 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cleanest Restaurant Group a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cleanest Restaurant Group as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 64 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
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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.