Culver'sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Culver's franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.8M – $6.9M, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.5M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 114 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $2.8M – $6.9M
- 100th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.5M
- 57th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 944
- 93rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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 0.7x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.0% of 114 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1990. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $2.8M – $6.9M including a $55K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.5M/year (median $3.4M), with an estimated 10% cash-on-cash return (based on Operating Income).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 30/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 114 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Culver Franchising System, LLC
- Parent company
- Culver Franchising System Deluxe, LLC
- Incorporated in
- WI
- HQ
- 1240 Water Street, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin 53578
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly US, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $222.1M
- vs $263.8M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate a fast-casual restaurant featuring Culver's proprietary menu (fried cheese curds, butter burgers, custard desserts) with full-service and drive-thru components. Day-to-day involves managing 40-80 employees across food prep, customer service, inventory, and seasonal staffing fluctuations, with heavy operational focus on custard production and food quality consistency.
- CEO
- Enrique Silva
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 1984
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 26
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 7 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Land Acquisitionnot refundable | — | — |
| Site Developmentnot refundable | — | — |
| Building Constructionnot refundable | — | — |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | — | — |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | — | — |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment and Suppliesnot refundable | — | — |
| Signs (Interior and Exterior)not refundable | — | — |
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
$541K
15.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
11%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
9.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.8M – $6.9M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $55K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 10.6 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $30K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $3.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $3.4M
- Avg operating income
- $457K
- Reported as Operating Income in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 9.5%
- Based on Operating Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual results
- Sample size
- 884 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1.0M→$7.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.7x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Culver's Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 944
- Opened
- 52
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 0.1%
- Company-owned
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +5.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +12.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 16
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 26 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
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- New York
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 114
- Loan volume
- $159.2M
- Median loan
- $866K
- 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
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 36
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Culver's charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Culver's's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 6-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 114 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Culver's presents moderate-to-low risk with strong unit economics and zero litigation, but high capital requirements and modest growth rate warrant careful due diligence on territory saturation and real-world payback timelines.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly US, 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
Score breakdown · what drove the 30 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($2.8M-$6.9M) creates significant capital requirement and payback pressure
- 02MINOR4% royalty plus typical 2-3% marketing fund reduces net margin; at $457K avg net income, ongoing fees consume ~26% of profit
- 03MINORModest unit growth (5.8% YoY) is healthy but slower than QSR category average (8-10%), suggesting market saturation in mature regions
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 96 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 548 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- PAR Brink
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: PAR Brink
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
936 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Culver's · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Culver's franchise?
The total investment to open a Culver's franchise ranges from $2.8M – $6.9M, 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 Culver's franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Culver's FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.5M. The median is $3.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Culver's's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Culver's has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 114 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Culver's franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Culver's has 944 total units in the United States, including 831 franchised units and 7 company-owned units. 52 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Culver's a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Culver's as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 30 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.