Crooked Pint Ale HouseFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Crooked Pint Ale House franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.2M – $2.1M, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $170K[2]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.2M – $2.1M
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $170K
- 0th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 14
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
At 0.1x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
The system contracted 7% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.2M – $2.1M including a $55K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $170K/year (median $186K).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Crooked Pint, LLC
- Parent company
- Hightop Brands, LLC
- 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
- $2.2M
- vs $2.2M 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).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate full-service ale house restaurants featuring craft beer selections, casual dining, and bar service. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and bar staff, inventory purchasing (particularly high-SKU beer selection), customer service, event hosting, and local marketing. This is a capital-intensive, labor-heavy hospitality business requiring 60+ hour owner involvement typical of independent bar/restaurant operations.
- CEO
- Paul Dzubnar
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Training-Related Expensesnot refundable | $5K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $50K | $125K | |
| Equipment and Trade Fixturesnot refundable | $50K | $300K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $5K | $20K | |
| Opening Inventory and Smallwaresnot refundable | $5K | $20K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $2K | $10K | |
| Initial Advertising and Promotional Costs | $5K | $15K | |
| Miscellaneous Start-Up Costsnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $5K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $152K | $580K |
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
$21K
12.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
1%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
80.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.2M – $2.1M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $75K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · 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 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $20K |
| 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.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $170K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $186K
- Item 19 type
- Historical Sales and Costs
- Sample size
- 14 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $80K→$248K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.1x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Crooked Pint Ale House Compares
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 (yr3)
- -6.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -12.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- 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).
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
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Crooked Pint Ale House's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 1 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 1-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Contracting system with shrinking unit base, undisclosed profitability, potential franchisor going-concern issues, and revenue figures that appear misaligned with investment requirements present substantial risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $75,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
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: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 100 / 100 rating
- 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
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status = FALSE suggests franchisor may have disclosed material doubts about ability to continue operations
- 04MINORAverage revenue of $169,508 is critically low for a full-service restaurant; incompatible with $1.19M-$2.1M investment thesis
- 05MEDHigh investment requirement ($1.19M-$2.1M) paired with undisclosed/likely marginal net income creates severe ROI risk
- 06MEDSmall unit count (14) limits franchisee network support and suggests limited franchisor resources
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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Designated Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Minnesota |
| 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
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- 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
FDD download
Crooked Pint Ale House · FDD (2025) PDF
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 $170K. The median is $186K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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 F-grade franchise with a risk score of 100 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.