FranchiseVerdict
East Coast Wings + Grill logo
FV-00823·STRONGExcellent95

East Coast Wings + Grill

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2002Website
Investment
$408K – $1.2M
55th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$2.0M
43rd pct Full Service
Royalty
Units
34
65th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $408K – $1.2M including a $40K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.8M). Estimated payback in 2.7 years.
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 39/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 13 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
EAST COAST WINGS CORPORATION
Parent company
ECW Enterprises, Inc.
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
100 Cambridge Plaza Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27104
Auditor
BDO USA, P.C.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.2M
vs $4.0M prior year

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 East Coast Wings + Grill unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $2,040,117
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $408K–$1.2M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

37%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$306K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$836K
Payback
33 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 East Coast Wings + Grill units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

32.6%

4.09× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.48×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$6.4M

on $16.3M purchase

Total debt

$9.9M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($8.2M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual wing and grill restaurants serving casual dining fare with emphasis on wings and grilled items. Daily operations include food preparation, inventory management, staff scheduling, customer service, and local marketing to drive traffic and meet the ~$2M annual revenue benchmark.

CEO
Sam G. Ballas
Founded
2002
FDD year
2024
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$408K – $1.2M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
the greater of (a) 5% of the Gross Sales of your Franchis…
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
2.7 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$2.0M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.8M
Item 19 type
Historical Performance
Sample size
20 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$1.2M$3.5M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank43th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank55th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank93th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank65th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank1th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
34
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
4
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
88%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
13.3%
Net growth (yr3)
+3.4%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-3.2%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
30+2
Franchised units
2023
29
Franchised units
2024
31
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 10 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 10 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
13
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

39
Risk · 0-100
STRONG39 / 100

Slow-growing regional QSR concept with concerning unit expansion metrics and aggressive fixed royalty obligations that warrant careful franchisee profitability validation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORMinimal system growth of only 3.4% YoY with just 34 units suggests weak expansion momentum and potential market saturation concerns
  2. 02MINORHigh minimum monthly royalty of $4,850 creates significant fixed costs regardless of sales performance, problematic for underperforming locations
  3. 03MINORWide investment range ($408K-$1.2M) indicates inconsistent buildout costs and unclear capital requirements for proper due diligence
  4. 04MINORNet income margin of 15% is solid but relies heavily on $2M+ annual revenue—significant execution risk for franchisees achieving this benchmark

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
48 hrs
On-the-job training
240 hrs

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

37 numbers

Locked
(619) 525-••••
San Diego Office
CA
(215) 288-••••
PA
(213) 576-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

East Coast Wings + Grill · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above