FranchiseVerdict
Cruisin’ Tikis logo
FV-00675·STRONGStandard76

Cruisin’ Tikis

OtherFranchising since 2018Website
Investment
$83K – $124K
27th pct Other
Avg revenue
50th pct Other
Royalty
6.0%
17th pct Other
Units
106
76th pct Other
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $83K – $124K including a $20K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
  • System growing at 53.6% CAGR over 3 years with 106 total units — strong expansion trajectory.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Cruisin’ Tikis International, Inc.
Incorporated in
Florida
HQ
635 NW 4th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311
Auditor
South Florida Audit & Assurance, Services
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$845K
vs $1.1M prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Cruisin’ Tikis unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $83K–$124K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $1K–$2K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

107%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%
ROIC above 100% usually means the revenue figure is a system-wide aggregate or top-cohort number rather than a single-unit average. Verify the "Revenue · per unit" field against the brand's FDD Item 19 detail tables before relying on this output.

Store EBITDA · annual
$113K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$105K
Payback
11 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Cruisin' Tikis franchisees operate tropical-themed bar and entertainment venues, likely serving alcohol and food with a casual atmosphere. Day-to-day operations include managing staff, inventory, POS systems, entertainment scheduling, customer service, and compliance with local alcohol licensing and health codes.

CEO
Karen Darby
Founded
2018
FDD year
2024
States available
13

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$83K – $124K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$1K – $2K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$20K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
106
Opened
15
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+12.8%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+53.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
106+12
Franchised units
2023
94
Franchised units
2024
69
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 17 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 17 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
12
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

51
Risk · 0-100
STRONG51 / 100

Regulatory history, missing financial disclosures, territorial vulnerability, and questionable corporate stability create meaningful investment risk despite modest growth trajectory.

Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Revenue/Net Income) disclosed — impossible to validate ROI on $83K-$124K investment
  2. 02MINORRegulatory violation (Feb 2022 Consent Order) shows compliance lapses in franchise registration and disclosure
  3. 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and company-owned units
  4. 04HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests potential financial instability or disclosure issues at corporate level
  5. 05MED6% royalty on undisclosed revenue base makes profitability assessment impossible
  6. 06MINORModest unit growth (12.8% YoY) from low base (106 units) indicates immature/fragile system
  7. 07MINOR5-year term is relatively short; renewal risk unclear

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Map-based
Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Florida

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
0 hrs
POS system
Fare Harbor or Peek Pro
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

33 numbers

Locked
(920) 203-••••
WI
(949) 498-••••
CA
(404) 787-••••
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Cruisin’ Tikis · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above