Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s KitchenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.1M – $4.7M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.8M[2]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.1M – $4.7M
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.8M
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 25
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Franchised units fell from 12 to 7 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.1M – $4.7M including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.8M/year.
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 75/100.
- System contracting at -41.7% 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
- We Are Crackin’ LLC
- Parent company
- Elmer’s Restaurants, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Elmer's Restaurants, Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Manager
- Gerald Scott
- CEO experience
- 14 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- OR
- HQ
- 363 High Street, Eugene, Oregon 97401
- Auditor
- Jones & Roth, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.3M
- vs $1.9M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual full-service dining establishments serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a focus on comfort food. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and front-of-house staff, inventory procurement, food preparation oversight, customer service, and local marketing within their assigned territory.
- CEO
- Gerald Scott
- Headquarters
- OR
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $90K | $200K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1.0M | $4.4M |
| Total initial investment | $1.1M | $4.7M |
Source: Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen 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
$360K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.1M – $4.7M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $90K – $200K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Actual sales of existing outlets
- Sample size
- 25 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $1.3M→$6.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 25
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.0%
- Company-owned
- 18
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 28%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 9.5%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -46.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -41.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 53.8%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 5.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 8 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 8
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Elmer's is a collapsing franchise system with severe unit attrition, going concern status, and no profitability transparency—extreme caution warranted.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Jones & Roth, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 46.2% year-over-year (25 units remaining) indicates systemic franchisee failure or franchisor distress
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status = franchisor financial viability questioned; risk of system collapse and loss of support
- 03MINORNo Item 19 (net income disclosure) combined with average revenue of $2.77M raises transparency concerns about actual profitability
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk between franchisees and cannibalization of sales
- 05MINORHigh investment ceiling ($4.67M) with declining unit count suggests poor ROI and lengthy payback periods for new franchisees
- 06MINOR4% royalty on gross sales (not net) means fees continue even during unprofitable months
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Single Location |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Eugene, Oregon |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Oregon |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 43 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 201 hrs
- Time to open
- 24 mo
- From signing to launch
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
13 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen franchise ranges from $1.1M – $4.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen (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 Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen has 25 total units in the United States, including 12 franchised units and 18 company-owned units.
Is Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Elmer’s Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner® / Egg N’ Joe® / Elmer’s Kitchen 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.