DQ Treat
Bottom line
- Total investment $363K – $1.2M including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 44 loans (below the industry average).
- 14 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 DQ Treat unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
10%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
DQ Treat franchisees operate soft-serve ice cream and frozen treat retail locations, managing daily customer service, product inventory, equipment maintenance, staffing, and local marketing. Franchisees pay 5% royalties on gross sales and operate within a 15-year agreement while competing in unprotected territories.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
DQ Treat represents HIGH RISK due to shrinking franchise network, withheld financial performance data, active litigation suggesting operational dysfunction, unprotected territory, and unclear franchisor financial health.
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-3.5% YoY) indicates system contraction and reduced franchisee success
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation and hides performance reality
- 03HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving subcontractor disputes, encroachment conflicts, and contract termination suggest franchisor operational/payment issues
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk between franchisees and potential encroachment by franchisor
- 05MEDHigh investment range ($363K-$1.2M) combined with undisclosed profitability creates severe ROI uncertainty
- 06HIGHGoing Concern = False is ambiguous; if this means financial distress, it signals franchisor viability risk
- 07MINORSubcontractor payment disputes (Denney Mechanical, Beristain Roofing) suggest franchisor cash flow or vendor management problems
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
43 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
DQ Treat · FDD (2022) PDF