Dirty Dough® Cookies Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Dirty Dough is a quick-service cookie franchise selling stuffed, layered cookies plus brownies and treats. Franchisees run retail cookie shops, managing production, staffing, and takeout and delivery service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES franchise requires a total initial investment of $154K – $510K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 48 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $154K – $510K
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 69
- 71st pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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 $154K – $510K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAudited statements of operations for years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (auditor: Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC). 2023 Total Revenues $2,082,596 comprised Royalties $342,840, Franchise Fees $421,547, Marketing income $185,373, Sales $894,404, Other $238,432; net loss $(2,347,741); members' equity (deficit) $(2,287,560).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 54/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 48 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 353.8% CAGR over 3 years with 69 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Dirty Dough Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- Dirty Dough LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Craveworthy LLC
- CEO title
- CEO
- Gregory Majewski
- Incorporated in
- UT
- HQ
- 632 N. 2000 W., Unit 110, Lindon, Utah 84042
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.1M
- vs $708K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Gregory Majewski
- Headquarters
- UT
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 22
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 50% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $2K | $10K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $117K | $465K |
| Total initial investment | $154K | $510K |
Source: DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES 2024 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
- $154K – $510K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $350 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES 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 DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
27%
Below 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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Audited statements of operations for years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 (auditor: Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC). 2023 Total Revenues $2,082,596 comprised Royalties $342,840, Franchise Fees $421,547, Marketing income $185,373, Sales $894,404, Other $238,432; net loss $(2,347,741); members' equity (deficit) $(2,287,560).
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 10.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System expanding at 353.8% CAGR over 3 years across 69 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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Dirty Dough® Cookies Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 69
- Opened
- 22
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.7%
- Company-owned
- 10
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 86%
- vs corporate-owned
- 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)
- 34
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 5
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 86.8%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 13.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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.
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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 48
- Loan volume
- $10.4M
- Median loan
- $216K
- average
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 12
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Dirty Dough® Cookies charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Dirty Dough® Cookies franchisees
Showing 3 of 12 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Dirty Dough® Cookies'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 18 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 48 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Dirty Dough presents HIGH RISK due to active fraud litigation, undisclosed unit economics, explosive growth without financial safeguards, and franchisor going concern issues.
Litigation (Item 3)
Making Dough N. Ogden LLC et al v. Dirty Dough Franchising LLC (Case No. 240400183): former franchisee alleging fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment; seeking $465,000 in damages plus rescission; filed January 25, 2024 in Utah Fourth District Court; in discovery phase as of issuance date
Largest disclosed settlement: $465,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
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 54 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive litigation alleging fraudulent inducement and misrepresentation with $465K damages claim from former franchisee
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (average unit volumes, net income, or profitability data)
- 03MINORExplosive unit growth (253.8% YoY) suggests rapid, potentially unsustainable expansion and quality control risk
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk between franchisees and cannibalization of sales
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status = False indicates potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 06MEDHigh investment range ($153.6K–$510K) with no disclosed average unit economics to justify ROI
- 07MINORNo transparency on average revenue—critical metric absent from franchise disclosure
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 14 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 9 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | UT |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Making Dough N. Ogden LLC et al v. Dirty Dough Franchising LLC (Case No. 240400183): former franchisee alleging fraudulent inducement, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment; seeking $465,000 in damages plus rescission; filed January 25, 2024 in Utah Fourth District Court; in discovery phase as of issuance date
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 41 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 14 hrs
- Training location
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
48 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES franchise?
The total investment to open a DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES franchise ranges from $154K – $510K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES franchise owners earn?
DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES 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 DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES 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 DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 48 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 DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES has 69 total units in the United States, including 59 franchised units and 10 company-owned units. 22 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 54 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?
If you represent DIRTY DOUGH® COOKIES, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.