Epic Wings Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Epic Wings is a quick-service franchise specializing in fresh, made-to-order chicken wings and sides. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and takeout and delivery.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Epic Wings franchise requires a total initial investment of $491K – $1.4M, including a $30K – $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $933K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $491K – $1.4M
- 79th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $933K
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 12
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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
- Total investment $491K – $1.4M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $933K/year (median $758K).
- Verdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sacco Restaurants Inc.
- CEO title
- President, Secretary and Treasurer
- Sam Sacco
- CEO experience
- 1994 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 12075 Carmel Mountain Road #201, San Diego, California 92128
- Auditor
- DA Advisory Group PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.9M
- vs $2.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Sam Sacco
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2013
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 48% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $75K | $225K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $386K | $1.1M |
| Total initial investment | $491K | $1.4M |
Source: Epic Wings 2025 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
- $491K – $1.4M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $75K – $225K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $12K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 15% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$131K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $933K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $758K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 10 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $316K→$2.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 485 Quick-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.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $933K/year in gross sales. Median is $758K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 9.1% CAGR over 3 years across 12 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 Epic Wings Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 12
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 25.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -7.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +9.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 2
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 4
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 25.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 20 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 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $4.2M
- Median loan
- $595K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (7 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- 6
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Epic Wings presents CAUTION-to-HIGH RISK profile: contracting unit base, undisclosed profitability metrics, and going concern ambiguity make this a speculative investment requiring extensive founder/franchisee validation before committing $490K-$1.4M.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA Advisory Group PLLC
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 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count declining 7.7% YoY (13 units total) indicates contraction and potential system instability
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — inability to assess actual profitability despite $2M average revenue claim
- 03MEDHigh investment range ($490K-$1.4M) with no disclosed net income creates severe ROI visibility problem
- 04HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE — franchisor may have financial distress or viability concerns
- 05MEDExtremely small franchise system (13 units) suggests minimal brand recognition and limited support infrastructure
- 06MINOR5% royalty on $2M revenue = $100K annual fee, but without net income disclosure, payback period is unknown
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | San Diego County, California (court, not arbitration) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 110 hrs
- Training location
- Epic Wings Restaurant near franchisee location or Carmel Mountain Road, California headquarters
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 19 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Revel
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
49 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Epic Wings · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Epic Wings franchise?
The total investment to open a Epic Wings franchise ranges from $491K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Epic Wings franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Epic Wings FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $933K. The median is $758K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Epic Wings's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Epic Wings (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 Epic Wings franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Epic Wings has 12 total units in the United States, including 12 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Epic Wings a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Epic Wings as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 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?
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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.