Elevation BurgerFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Elevation Burger franchise requires a total initial investment of $517K – $2.0M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $517K – $2.0M
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 36
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 33.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
The system contracted 9% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $517K – $2.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $739K).
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 75/100.
- System contracting at -11.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- EB FRANCHISES, LLC
- Parent company
- FAT Brands, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Fog Cutter Holdings LLC
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 9720 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 500, Beverly Hills, California 90212
- Auditor
- Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.1M
- vs $1.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual burger restaurants featuring grass-fed beef, premium ingredients, and a sustainability-focused brand positioning. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, counter service, inventory management, and maintaining brand standards across limited-menu burger-centric menus. The model targets health-conscious consumers willing to pay premium prices in a competitive quick-service restaurant landscape.
- CEO
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Headquarters
- CA
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $442K | $1.9M |
| Total initial investment | $517K | $2.0M |
Source: Elevation Burger 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$108K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $517K – $2.0M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg 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 | $2K |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $739K
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 8 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $604K→$2.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Elevation Burger Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 36
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 20.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -8.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -11.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 12.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 3 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 3
- Loan volume
- $1.7M
- Median loan
- $600K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 33.3%
- 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)
- 66.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 3
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Elevation Burger's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 3 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Elevation Burger operates within a contracting franchise system under litigation-prone parent company with regulatory compliance failures, undisclosed profitability metrics, and deteriorating unit economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
FAT Brands faces one pending class action securities litigation (Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands, Inc., filed June 7, 2024, alleging false and misleading statements regarding government investigations). Three concluded matters: (1) In re FAT Brands Inc. Securities Litigation - consolidated class action settled February 2023 for $2.5M cash and $500K in stock; (2) Virginia Commonwealth v. Fatburger North America, Inc. (SEC-2022-00034) - franchise registration violation settled July 2023, final order October 2023, requiring rescission offer and $27K payment; (3) Virginia Commonwealth v. Fatburger North America, Inc. (SEC-2022-0042) - incomplete disclosure of stockholine equity on balance sheet, settlement order entered February 21, 2025.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP
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 75 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 8.6% YoY (36 units) indicating system contraction and potential viability concerns
- 02MINORParent company FAT Brands facing active securities class action lawsuits with officer involvement suggesting corporate governance/transparency issues
- 03MEDNet Income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 makes ROI analysis impossible and prevents informed investment decisions
- 04MINORRegulatory settlement with Virginia over franchise registration and financial reporting inaccuracies indicates compliance failures and potential misrepresentation to franchisees
- 05MINORHigh investment range ($517K-$1.99M) combined with declining unit count suggests franchisees are struggling to achieve adequate returns
- 06MINOR6% royalty on average $1.08M revenue ($64,800 annually) represents meaningful ongoing cost in contracting system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
FAT Brands faces one pending class action securities litigation (Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands, Inc., filed June 7, 2024, alleging false and misleading statements regarding government investigations). Three concluded matters: (1) In re FAT Brands Inc. Securities Litigation - consolidated class action settled February 2023 for $2.5M cash and $500K in stock; (2) Virginia Commonwealth v. Fatburger North America, Inc. (SEC-2022-00034) - franchise registration violation settled July 2023, final order October 2023, requiring rescission offer and $27K payment; (3) Virginia Commonwealth v. Fatburger North America, Inc. (SEC-2022-0042) - incomplete disclosure of stockholine equity on balance sheet, settlement order entered February 21, 2025.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 78 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 422 hrs
- Training location
- Our corporate offices in Beverly Hills, CA
- Field support
- 422 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
17 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Elevation Burger · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Elevation Burger franchise?
The total investment to open a Elevation Burger franchise ranges from $517K – $2.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Elevation Burger franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Elevation Burger FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $739K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Elevation Burger's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Elevation Burger (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 Elevation Burger franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Elevation Burger has 36 total units in the United States, including 32 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Elevation Burger a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Elevation Burger as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 75 out of 100, 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.
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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.