Cousins Maine Lobster Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $267K – $969K
- Disclosed sales
- $891K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (9)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Cousins Maine Lobster is a seafood franchise serving Maine lobster rolls and seafood from food trucks and restaurants. Franchisees run the operations, managing food prep, staffing, and service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cousins Maine Lobster franchise requires a total initial investment of $267K – $969K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $891K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: F (Weakest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $267K – $969K
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $891K
- 4th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 6th 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 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 $267K – $969K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $891K/year (median $636K).
- RISKVerdict F (Weakest tier), verdict score 23/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 2 closed); 3 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- CML Storefront, LLC
- CEO title
- President
- Shaun Higgins
- CEO experience
- 10 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- ME
- HQ
- 125 John Roberts Road, Unit #2, South Portland, ME 04106
- Auditor
- Velez Hardy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $396K
- vs $490K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- Cousins Maine Lobster
- CML Franchise
- Cousins Seafood Distribution
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Shaun Higgins
- Headquarters
- ME
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 9% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Application Feenot refundable | $500 | $4K | |
| Deposit Accountnot refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $90K | $400K | |
| Rent and Security Deposit | $3K | $36K | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $5K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $5K | $150K | |
| Initial Inventory (Startup Package) | $30K | $80K | |
| Signage | $5K | $40K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $5K | |
| Office Equipment & Supplies | $250 | $5K | |
| Computer Equipment (Hardware, Software, POS System, etc.) | $8K | $24K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses for Training | $5K | $10K | |
| Licenses & Permits | $2K | $15K | |
| Legal & Accounting | $5K | $15K | |
| General Contractor | $750 | $40K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $1K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - three months | $50K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $267K | $966K |
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
- $267K – $969K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $30K – $80K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 44% below the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Cousins Maine Lobster 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
$681K
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 Cousins Maine Lobster 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $891K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $636K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 3 outlets
- vs category median 18 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $614K→$1.4MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 46 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-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 $891K/year in gross sales. Median is $636K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 3 outlets — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
System shrank 42.9% over 3 years — 2 closures. Ask existing franchisees about local market conditions.
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 medians
How Cousins Maine Lobster Compares
Category median of published Full-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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 50.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -42.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -42.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 3
- 0.75 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 0.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 4 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
4
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
2 current owners across 2 states.
- IL 1
- PA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 3 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $3.2M
- Median loan
- $317K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (9)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 9 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 (9)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (9)
- 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
Cousins Maine Lobster presents meaningful risk: a collapsing franchise system (down 80% in unit count), undisclosed profitability, recent franchisee litigation, and high fixed royalties that may exceed profits at lower revenue levels.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (plaintiff).
CML Franchise LLC v. Todd Adams LLC et al. (CA Superior Court, No. 24NNCV00774). CMLF sued former franchisee for breach of franchise contract; settled July 2024 for $27,514.15 stipulated judgment with confidentiality/nondisparagement clauses.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Velez Hardy
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Revenue per audited Statements of Income for CML Storefront, LLC: $396,227 (FY2024), $490,076 (FY2023). Net income $60,520 (2024). Members' deficit of $(49,875) at 12/31/2024.
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 23 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 20% year-over-year (4 units remaining) — severe system contraction signals fundamental business model or support issues
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — inability to validate profitability claims against $267K-$969K investment range
- 03HIGHRecent litigation (July 2024) shows franchisor enforcement action; settlement suggests franchisee distress and potential operational/support gaps
- 04MINORRoyalty floor of $3,500/month ($42K annually) creates breakeven pressure on lower-performing units, especially with average revenue of $891K
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| 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 | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 14 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Portland, Maine |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | ME |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
CML Franchise LLC v. Todd Adams LLC et al. (CA Superior Court, No. 24NNCV00774). CMLF sued former franchisee for breach of franchise contract; settled July 2024 for $27,514.15 stipulated judgment with confidentiality/nondisparagement clauses.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 74 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 116 hrs
- Training location
- Los Angeles, CA; Nashville, TN; or Portland, ME
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Revel
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
5 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 Cousins Maine Lobster franchise?
The total investment to open a Cousins Maine Lobster franchise ranges from $267K – $969K, 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 Cousins Maine Lobster franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cousins Maine Lobster FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $891K. The median is $636K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Cousins Maine Lobster?
Cousins Maine Lobster is franchised by CML Storefront, LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Cousins Maine Lobster 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 Cousins Maine Lobster FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Cousins Maine Lobster's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cousins Maine Lobster (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 Cousins Maine Lobster franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cousins Maine Lobster has 4 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cousins Maine Lobster a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cousins Maine Lobster as a F-grade franchise with a verdict score of 23 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
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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.