Crazy Otto’s DinerFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Crazy Otto’s Diner franchise requires a total initial investment of $563K – $760K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $563K – $760K
- 35th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5
- 13th 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
Bottom line
- Total investment $563K – $760K including a $25K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 72/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- ENGINE NO.9, INC.
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Jin Hur
- CEO experience
- 20 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 41008 43rd Street West, Palmdale, CA 93551
- Auditor
- JHK CPAs, AC.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $85K
- vs $130K prior year
Overview
About
Crazy Otto's Diner franchisees operate classic American diner establishments serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with dine-in and outside vendor/catering revenue streams. Daily operations include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and compliance with franchisor operational standards while remitting 4% of dine-in and 2% of outside vendor sales as royalties.
- CEO
- Jin Hur
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2008
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $7K | $112K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $531K | $623K |
| Total initial investment | $563K | $760K |
Source: Crazy Otto’s Diner 2025 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
- $563K – $760K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $7K – $112K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 4.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.5% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 4.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Crazy Otto’s Diner Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 60%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -50.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
Financially distressed franchisor with minimal system scale, no performance disclosure, and unclear path to profitability makes this a high-risk investment.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · JHK CPAs, AC.
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 72 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates franchisor financial distress or operational uncertainty
- 02MINOROnly 5 units systemwide suggests minimal scale, market validation failure, or recent contraction
- 03MEDNo Item 19 (average unit revenue/profitability) disclosed — prevents ROI assessment on $563k-$760k investment
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-unit ratio ($112k-$152k per existing unit) with no financial performance data to justify spend
- 05MINORRoyalty structure (4% dine-in + 2% outside vendor) lacks transparency on actual cost burden without revenue disclosure
- 06MINOR5-year term is relatively short; typically indicates franchisor uncertainty or struggling brand repositioning
- 07MEDNo disclosed growth trajectory or expansion plans despite small unit count
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 20 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| 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 | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 120 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Crazy Otto’s Diner · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Crazy Otto’s Diner franchise?
The total investment to open a Crazy Otto’s Diner franchise ranges from $563K – $760K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Crazy Otto’s Diner franchise owners earn?
Crazy Otto’s Diner 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 Crazy Otto’s Diner's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Crazy Otto’s Diner (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 Crazy Otto’s Diner franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Crazy Otto’s Diner has 5 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Crazy Otto’s Diner a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Crazy Otto’s Diner as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 72 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.
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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.