Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $660K – $1.3M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.1M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (8)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Costa Vida is a fast-casual franchise serving fresh, made-from-scratch Mexican bowls, burritos, tacos, and its signature sweet pork. Franchisees run restaurants managing food prep, counter service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise requires a total initial investment of $660K – $1.3M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.1M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $660K – $1.3M
- 84th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- Incl. company outletsNet sales33rd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 91
- 75th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · 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 $660K – $1.3M including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $1.9M) (includes company-owned outlets).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 55/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -7 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 8 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -14.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Costa Vida Management, LLC
- Parent company
- CV Holdings, LC
- FDD Item 1, page 10 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- Costa Vida Management, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer
- Sean Collins / Dave Rutter
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 1333 S. Valley Grove Way, Suite 500, Pleasant Grove, UT 84042
- Auditor
- G&S Certified Public Accountants
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $11.9M
- vs $11.8M prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 10
1 other brand on this site name CV Holdings, LC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2024 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Sean Collins / Dave Rutter
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 14
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 102% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Area Development Fee | — | — | |
| Travel and living expenses while training | $15K | $15K | |
| Tenant improvements and build-out | $300K | $614K | |
| Building and design permit and professional fees | $14K | $49K | |
| Restaurant equipment including POS & computers | $150K | $255K | |
| Trade dress, woodwork, furniture, Design package, & fixtures | $55K | $99K | |
| Opening supplies & inventory | $10K | $15K | |
| Small wares | $15K | $30K | |
| Signage | $8K | $50K | |
| Grand opening promotion & special assistance | $10K | $20K | |
| Security & utility deposits | $1K | $18K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $5K | |
| Additional funds - three months | $50K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $660K | $1.3M |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $660K – $1.3M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.3% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 114% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Includes company-owned outlets
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.1M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.9M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- AUV and EBITDAR by performance tier plus high/low/average/median Net Sales
- Sample size
- 81 outlets
- vs category median 19 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $802K→$4.4MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 61 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.2M→$3.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.1x. Includes company-owned outlets.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.3% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -14.0% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 91
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 8.8%
- Company-owned
- 42
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 54%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -14.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -14.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 5
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.01 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
82 current owners across 13 states.
- UT 45
- ID 10
- TX 5
- CO 4
- WA 4
- AZ 3
- CA 3
- NV 3
- KS 1
- MO 1
- NM 1
- TN 1
- +1 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 2 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 8 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 8
- Loan volume
- $5.3M
- Median loan
- $651K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (8)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 8 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (8)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (8)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- 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
Costa Vida shows meaningful caution signals: contracting unit base (-12.5% YoY), opaque profitability metrics, and high capital requirements that cannot be validated against actual franchisee earnings.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · G&S Certified Public Accountants
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
2023 total revenue of $11,931,899 disclosed in Item 8 (rebate context); audited financial statements (Exhibit F, FYE 12/31/2021-2023) referenced but balance sheet/income statement figures and auditor name not present in extractable text.
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 55 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 12.5% YoY (91 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability despite $2.08M avg revenue
- 03MEDHigh capital requirement ($659.5K–$1.3M) combined with undisclosed margins creates ROI uncertainty
- 04MINORNo going concern statement is positive, but lack of financial transparency raises questions about system health
- 05MINOR6% royalty on weekly sales is standard but only sustainable if net margins support it
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.3% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 57 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 490 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor's Headquarters (Utah)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Standard POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Standard POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
84 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise?
The total investment to open a Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise ranges from $660K – $1.3M, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.1M. The median is $1.9M. Important context: Includes company-owned outlets; Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill?
Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill is franchised by Costa Vida Management, LLC. Its parent company is CV Holdings, LC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill 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 Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill (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 Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill has 91 total units in the United States, including 49 franchised units and 42 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 55 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.