Diesel Barbershop Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Diesel Barbershop is a men's grooming franchise offering haircuts, shaves, and grooming in an industrial-themed shop. Franchisees run the shops, managing barbers, scheduling, and retail.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Diesel Barbershop franchise requires a total initial investment of $361K – $503K, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.5% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $361K – $503K
- 40th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 7.5%
- 44th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 31
- 28th pct Personal Care…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Personal Care & Beauty 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 $361K – $503K including a $45K franchise fee, 7.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports gross revenue by tertile (top/middle/bottom third) for FY2024 across 9 franchised Barbershops, not quartiles. avg_gross_sales ($697,234) and median ($604,664) are the TOP-THIRD 2024 figures; item19_top_quartile_sales reflects top-third average and item19_bottom_quartile_sales reflects bottom-third average ($209,263). Middle-third 2024 avg was $336,186. Highest single shop $1,132,157 (top third), lowest $149,254 (bottom third). System-wide single combined average/median not provided.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Diesel Barbershop Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Kelly Smentek
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 11255 Hubner Road, Suite 104, San Antonio, Texas 78230
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.2M
- vs $1.5M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Kelly Smentek
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 11
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 18% below the typical personal care & beauty franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $45K | $45K | |
| Technology Fees for the First 11 months from the Effective Date of the Franchise Agreementnot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Architectural Feesnot refundable | $9K | $10K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $129K | $214K | |
| Security, Utility Deposits, Insurance, First Month's Rentnot refundable | $8K | $10K | |
| Equipment, FF&E and Signagenot refundable | $95K | $125K | |
| Computer System and AV Packagenot refundable | $20K | $37K | |
| POS System Fee for Three Monthsnot refundable | $750 | $750 | |
| Initial Barber Supplies and Inventorynot refundable | $16K | $21K | |
| Initial Marketing Spendnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Legal Feesnot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Training Expenses, Travel and Living to attend Initial Training Programnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Monthsnot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $361K | $503K |
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
- $361K – $503K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.5%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $16K – $21K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Diesel Barbershop did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Diesel Barbershop unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
35%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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
Item 19 reports gross revenue by tertile (top/middle/bottom third) for FY2024 across 9 franchised Barbershops, not quartiles. avg_gross_sales ($697,234) and median ($604,664) are the TOP-THIRD 2024 figures; item19_top_quartile_sales reflects top-third average and item19_bottom_quartile_sales reflects bottom-third average ($209,263). Middle-third 2024 avg was $336,186. Highest single shop $1,132,157 (top third), lowest $149,254 (bottom third). System-wide single combined average/median not provided.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue by tier
- Sample size
- 26
- vs category median 38
- Range (low → high)
- $149K→$1.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 179 Personal Care & Beauty brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.5% (near the Personal Care & Beauty average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross revenue by tier rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 17.4% CAGR over 3 years across 31 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Personal Care & Beauty averages
How Diesel Barbershop Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 31
- Opened
- 2
- 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
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 87%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +17.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +17.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 2
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 0.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 11 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.
11
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $1.9M
- Median loan
- $337K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (6 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
- 6
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Moderate-to-cautious risk profile driven by undisclosed profitability metrics, high capital requirements relative to average revenue, and slow system growth in a competitive barbershop market.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation must be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Kezos & Dunlavy⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 38 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate ROI claims or profitability benchmarks
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 8.0% YoY suggests modest expansion and potential market saturation in mature barbershop sector
- 03MINOR7.5% royalty on gross sales (not net) reduces profitability and increases franchisee vulnerability during revenue downturns
- 04MINORNo disclosure of franchisee failure rate, unit closures, or multi-unit performance data
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.5% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 0 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 15 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | San Antonio, Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation must be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 44 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 54 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor headquarters/designated facility in San Antonio, TX; affiliate Barbershop; franchisee's Barbershop
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Unchained Systems (approved POS supplier)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Unchained Systems (approved POS supplier)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Diesel Barbershop · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Diesel Barbershop franchise?
The total investment to open a Diesel Barbershop franchise ranges from $361K – $503K, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Diesel Barbershop franchise owners earn?
Diesel Barbershop does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Diesel Barbershop 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 Diesel Barbershop FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Diesel Barbershop's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Diesel Barbershop (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 Diesel Barbershop franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Diesel Barbershop has 31 total units in the United States, including 27 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Diesel Barbershop a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Diesel Barbershop as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 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
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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.