Detroit Wing Company Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Detroit Wing Company is a quick-service franchise specializing in fresh chicken wings, tenders, and signature sauces. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and takeout and delivery.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Detroit Wing Company franchise requires a total initial investment of $506K – $662K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.7M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $506K – $662K
- 77th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.7M
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 11
- 39th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $506K – $662K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.7M/year (median $1.7M).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- DWC Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- DWC Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- President
- Costa ("Gus") Malliaras
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 876 Horace Brown Drive, Suite 100, Madison Heights, MI 48071
- Auditor
- Fenner, Melstrom & Dooling, PLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $882K
- Most recent fiscal year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Costa ("Gus") Malliaras
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 11% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $451K | $582K |
| Total initial investment | $506K | $662K |
Source: Detroit Wing Company 2022 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
- $506K – $662K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $17K – $19K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 42% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 19
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
$240K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
39%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
31 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Detroit Wing Company unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
39%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Detroit Wing Company units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
40.5%
5.48× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.10×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.4M
on $12.0M purchase
Total debt
$8.6M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 6
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.2M→$2.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 782 Quick-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 $1.7M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 233.3% CAGR over 3 years across 11 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 8% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Detroit Wing Company Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- Opened
- 4
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 91%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 8.3%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 12
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states 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.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $2.5M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (9 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- 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
Rapidly expanding micro-franchise with undisclosed unit economics, franchisor financial concerns, and unvalidated profitability claims creates significant investment risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Fenner, Melstrom & Dooling, PLC
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 45 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial distress or structural instability at franchisor level
- 02MINORExplosive 66.7% YoY unit growth (7→11 units) is unsustainable and suggests aggressive expansion without proven unit economics
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($506K-$662K) combined with 6% royalty on disclosed $1.7M revenue leaves unclear net margins after COGS, labor, and rent
- 04MEDOnly 11 total units is extremely small system with limited data reliability and high per-unit franchisor dependency
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 35 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | County of franchisor's principal place of business (Madison Heights, MI) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 50 hrs
- Training location
- Affiliate's location in Eastpointe, Michigan or franchisee-owned location in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 50 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with required use of designated supplier; franchisor approves site
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
24 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Detroit Wing Company · FDD (2022) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Detroit Wing Company franchise?
The total investment to open a Detroit Wing Company franchise ranges from $506K – $662K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Detroit Wing Company franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Detroit Wing Company FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.7M. The median is $1.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Detroit Wing Company 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 Detroit Wing Company FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Detroit Wing Company's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Detroit Wing Company (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 Detroit Wing Company franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Detroit Wing Company has 11 total units in the United States, including 10 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Detroit Wing Company a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Detroit Wing Company as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
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.