FranchiseVerdict
Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop logo
FV-00869·STRONGExcellent91

Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop

Food & Beverage - Quick ServiceFranchising since 1992Website
Investment
$40K – $460K
3rd pct Quick Service
Avg revenue
$617K
12th pct Quick Service
Royalty
6.0%
46th pct Quick Service
Units
60
63rd pct Quick Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $40K – $460K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $617K/year (median $565K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 15 loans (below the industry average).
  • 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
Wisconsin
HQ
E3110 Hailey Lane, Eau Claire, Wisconsin 54701
Auditor
Bauman Associates, Ltd.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$4.1M
vs $3.9M 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 Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $617,234
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: qsr
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $40K–$460K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $1K–$30K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

33%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$86K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$265K
Payback
37 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 Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$864K

on $4.3M purchase

Total debt

$3.5M

SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note

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
Founded
1991
FDD year
2025
States available
9

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$40K – $460K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$1K – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Net Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

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 37
Range (low → high)
$118K$1.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank12th
vs Food & Beverage - Quick Service peers
Investment cost rank3th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank46th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank63th
vs Food & Beverage - Quick Service peers
Risk score rank25th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

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
2023
56-4
Franchised units
2024
60
Franchised units
2025
65
Franchised units

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).

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 · 9 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
15
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

52
Risk · 0-100
STRONG52 / 100

Declining franchise system with unresolved litigation history, missing profitability disclosure, and unclear financial viability creates meaningful investment risk requiring deep franchisee validation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 6.7% YoY (60 units) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02MINORNo average net income disclosure in FDD (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI validation against $39.5K-$460K investment range
  3. 03HIGHTwo litigation settlements ($50K + $77.5K) within 4 years suggest franchise relationship management issues and location/territory disputes
  4. 04MEDHigh investment ceiling ($460K) combined with undisclosed profitability creates significant downside risk for multi-unit operators
  5. 05HIGHGoing concern status 'False' is ambiguous—unclear if franchisor or franchisees face financial viability concerns
  6. 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

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
2
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Wisconsin

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
153 hrs
POS system
Revel
Operating tech stack

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

63 numbers

Locked
(715) 425-••••
WI
(507) 386-••••
MN
(320) 240-••••
MN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Erbert & Gerbert's Sandwich Shop · FDD (2025) PDF

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