Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich ShopFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop franchise requires a total initial investment of $40K – $460K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $617K[2]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $40K – $460K
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $617K
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 60
- 65th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Franchising since 1992. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 6560 to 69 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $40K – $460K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $617K/year (median $565K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 63/100.
- System contracting at -13.8% 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
- E & G Franchise Systems, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- WI
- HQ
- E3110 Hailey Lane, Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701
- Auditor
- Bauman Associates, Ltd.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.1M
- vs $3.9M prior year
Overview
About
Erbert & Gerbert's franchisees operate fast-casual sandwich shops serving made-to-order submarine sandwiches and related menu items. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and staff scheduling in either traditional retail locations or non-traditional venues (kiosks, ghost kitchens, airports). Franchisees must manage food costs, labor, and local marketing while maintaining brand standards and paying ongoing 5-6% royalties.
- CEO
- Eric Wolfe
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 1991
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $50K | $145K | |
| Lease Payment and Security Depositnot refundable | $4K | $14K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses for You and Your Manager During Trainingnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Insurance Premiums - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Opening Inventory of Supplies, Food and Beveragesnot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Uniforms, Small Wares, Office Supplies, Menus and Other Printed Materialsnot refundable | $6K | $8K | |
| Exterior Signage and Interior Decornot refundable | $10K | $18K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipmentnot refundable | $40K | $150K | |
| Computer Systemsnot refundable | $9K | $11K | |
| Professional Servicesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Architectural/Design Servicesnot refundable | $9K | $17K | |
| Miscellaneous Licenses, Deposits and Permitsnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising and Promotionnot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $194K | $460K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$86K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
33%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $40K – $460K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $1K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $30K
- 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 | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $9K – $18K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $617K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $565K
- Item 19 type
- Actual Revenues
- Sample size
- 38 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $118K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $322K→$960K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 60
- Opened
- 10
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 10
- Turnover rate
- 16.7%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -6.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -13.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 4
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 3
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 5.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 7.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Illinois
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 15
- 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
Declining franchise system with unresolved litigation history, missing profitability disclosure, and unclear financial viability creates meaningful investment risk requiring deep franchisee validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
7 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $400,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bauman Associates, Ltd.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 6.7% YoY (60 units) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORNo average net income disclosure in FDD (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI validation against $39.5K-$460K investment range
- 03HIGHTwo litigation settlements ($50K + $77.5K) within 4 years suggest franchise relationship management issues and location/territory disputes
- 04MEDHigh investment ceiling ($460K) combined with undisclosed profitability creates significant downside risk for multi-unit operators
- 05HIGHGoing concern status 'False' is ambiguous—unclear if franchisor or franchisees face financial viability concerns
- 06MINOR6% royalty on $617K average revenue ($37K/year) is substantial without knowing actual net margins or whether breakeven is achievable
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 | 10 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 | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
7 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 153 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Revel
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
63 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop franchise?
The total investment to open a Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop franchise ranges from $40K – $460K, 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 Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $617K. The median is $565K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop (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 Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop has 60 total units in the United States, including 6,560 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 10 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 63 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.
For franchisors
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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.