Cleavers PhiladelphiaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cleavers Philadelphia franchise requires a total initial investment of $428K – $770K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $4.8M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $428K – $770K
- 29th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $4.8M
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Each dollar invested generates 8.1x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2024. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $428K – $770K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $4.8M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 32/100.
- Revenue data based on only 1 reporting unit. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Cleavers Franchise LLC
- Predecessor
- company
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 105 Springhouse Lane, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- owns a business of the type being franchised
- Cleavers Holding
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Cleavers Philadelphia franchisees operate a butcher shop or specialty meat retail business, managing inventory procurement, meat cutting/preparation, customer service, and point-of-sale operations. Daily operations include managing fresh product quality, handling supplier relationships, staffing meat counter personnel, and driving local customer acquisition through a protected territory.
- CEO
- Dimitri Poulimenos
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $150K | $384K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment, & Supplies | $150K | $200K | |
| Exterior Signage | $8K | $10K | |
| Computer System | $5K | $7K | |
| Security System | $2K | $5K | |
| Initial Inventory to Begin Opening | $8K | $12K | |
| Office Equipment & Supplies | $2K | $3K | |
| Lease Deposits | $10K | $20K | |
| Utilities Deposits | $2K | $3K | |
| Insurance (3 months) | $2K | $3K | |
| Training Expenses | $6K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $10K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $5K | |
| Business Permits and Licenses | $2K | $4K | |
| Design & Architect Fees | $10K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $20K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $428K | $770K |
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
$582K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
93%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
13 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $428K – $770K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $650 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $4.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Historical
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 8.1x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Cleavers Philadelphia Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Single-unit franchise system with going concern issues, undisclosed profitability, and unverifiable revenue claims presents extreme execution risk.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 32 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates franchisor financial distress or viability uncertainty
- 02MINOROnly 1 unit operating makes system validation impossible; no comparable performance data or franchisee network
- 03MEDNet Income not disclosed prevents ROI calculation; with $427K–$769K investment and 5% royalties, profitability timeline is unclear
- 04MINORAverage Revenue of $4.8M appears inflated or unverified (likely franchisor data, not franchisee average); single unit cannot substantiate this claim
- 05MINORFranchise Fee ($40K) is reasonable, but total investment range suggests high overhead with unproven unit economics
- 06MINOR10-year term locks franchisee into relationship with a franchisor showing financial instability signals
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Zip Codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 23 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 67 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- MicroWorks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: MicroWorks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
17 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cleavers Philadelphia · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cleavers Philadelphia franchise?
The total investment to open a Cleavers Philadelphia franchise ranges from $428K – $770K, 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 Cleavers Philadelphia franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cleavers Philadelphia FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $4.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cleavers Philadelphia's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cleavers Philadelphia (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 Cleavers Philadelphia franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cleavers Philadelphia has 1 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is Cleavers Philadelphia a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cleavers Philadelphia as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 32 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.
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.