Crooked Pint Ale House Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.1M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.0M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Crooked Pint Ale House is a casual-dining franchise serving pub food and craft beer in an ale-house setting. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, bar, and dining service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Crooked Pint Ale House franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.2M – $2.1M, including a $55K – $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.0M[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: 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 scored5 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.1M
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- Partial period10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 14
- 16th 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 $1.2M – $2.1M including a $55K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.0M/year.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 53/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Crooked Pint, LLC
- Parent company
- Hightop Brands, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
- Paul Dzubnar
- CEO experience
- 2011 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MN
- HQ
- 1342 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.7M
- vs $2.8M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Green Mill on the Go
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 6
2 other brands on this site name Hightop Brands, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 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
- Paul Dzubnar
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 143% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $55K | $55K | |
| Training-Related Expenses | $60K | $70K | |
| Rent Security Deposit and First Month's Rent | $0 | $22K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $650K | $850K | |
| Equipment and Trade Fixtures | $264K | $867K | |
| Signage | $18K | $40K | |
| Opening Inventory and Smallwares | $50K | $65K | |
| Insurance | $5K | $10K | |
| Initial Advertising and Promotional Costs | $25K | $25K | |
| Miscellaneous Start-Up costs | $8K | $12K | |
| Liquor License | $4K | $10K | |
| Quality Control Inspection Fee | $2K | $2K | |
| Academy Fee | $1K | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $50K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.2M | $2.1M |
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
- $1.2M – $2.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $50K – $65K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
A 5.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 27% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Covers a partial period, not a full year
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 Crooked Pint Ale House 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
$1.7M
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 Crooked Pint Ale House 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
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- partial-period revenue
- Sample size
- 14 outlets
- vs category median 18
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 7 / 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 $2.0M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.5% — below the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
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 -12.5% 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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Crooked Pint Ale House 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
- 14
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 7.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -12.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -12.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 50.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Minnesota
- South Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
13 current owners across 4 states.
- MN 10
- AZ 1
- SD 1
- WI 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. 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 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $350K
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 1 loan, 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 (1)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 financial statements are the audited COMBINED financial statements of Green Mill Restaurants, LLC and GMR, Inc. (affiliates that provide management/administrative services to franchisor Crooked Pint, LLC), audited by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (Owatonna, MN), dated August 22, 2025. FY2024 Total Revenues 2,657,168 (Royalty & Franchise Fees 1,516,378; Management Fees 132,499; Administrative Allowance 1,008,291). Net income 119,228.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 53 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count declining 6.7% YoY (14 units) indicates system contraction and potential viability concerns
- 02MINORNo net income disclosure despite Item 19 availability — inability or unwillingness to show profitability is a major red flag
- 03MINORAverage revenue of $169,508 is critically low for a full-service restaurant; incompatible with $1.19M-$2.1M investment thesis
- 04MEDHigh investment requirement ($1.19M-$2.1M) paired with undisclosed/likely marginal net income creates severe ROI risk
- 05MEDSmall unit count (14) limits franchisee network support and suggests limited franchisor resources
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.5% 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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 15,000 |
| 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 | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Minnesota |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MN |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 75 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Training location
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Ingage I.T. (Infinity Service)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Ingage I.T. (Infinity Service)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 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 Crooked Pint Ale House franchise?
The total investment to open a Crooked Pint Ale House franchise ranges from $1.2M – $2.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Crooked Pint Ale House franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Crooked Pint Ale House FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.0M. Important context: Covers a partial period, not a full year. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Crooked Pint Ale House?
Crooked Pint Ale House is franchised by Crooked Pint, LLC. Its parent company is Hightop Brands, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Crooked Pint Ale House 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 Crooked Pint Ale House FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Crooked Pint Ale House's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Crooked Pint Ale House (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 Crooked Pint Ale House franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Crooked Pint Ale House has 14 total units in the United States, including 14 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Crooked Pint Ale House a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Crooked Pint Ale House as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 53 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.