FranchiseVerdict
Erik’s DeliCafe logo
FV-00870·STRONGExcellent86

Erik’s DeliCafe

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 1986Website
Investment
$201K – $552K
19th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$851K
13th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
28
61st pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $201K – $552K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $851K/year (median $844K).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 loans (below the industry average).
  • No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Erik’s DeliCafe Franchises, Inc.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
1550 The Alameda, Suite 330, San Jose, California 95126
Auditor
Dennis Duncan & Torchon LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.9M
vs $1.9M 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 Erik’s DeliCafe unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $851,180
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $201K–$552K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$30K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

33%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$132K
EBITDA margin
15.5%
Total invested
$396K
Payback
36 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 Erik’s DeliCafe 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

$1.4M

on $7.2M purchase

Total debt

$5.8M

SBA $3.6M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate casual deli and cafe locations serving sandwiches, prepared foods, and beverages in walk-in or counter-service environments. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, customer service, and local marketing to drive foot traffic and repeat business.

CEO
Brian E. Johnson
Founded
1973
FDD year
2025
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$201K – $552K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $30K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$35K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$851K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$844K
Item 19 type
Gross Revenue and COGS
Sample size
25 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$444K$1.3M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank13th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank19th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank61th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank26th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
28
Opened
1
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
93%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
26+1
Franchised units
2024
26
Franchised units
2025
26
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 5 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 · 5 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
12
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

54
Risk · 0-100
STRONG54 / 100

Erik's DeliCafe presents CAUTION-level risk due to franchisor going concern status, opaque profitability despite $851K average revenue, tiny stagnant unit base, and unprotected territories—inadequate disclosure makes ROI validation impossible.

Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates potential financial distress or viability uncertainty at franchisor level
  2. 02MINORNo net income disclosure despite $851K average revenue — profitability unclear and concerning
  3. 03MINOROnly 28 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining system
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees in same market
  5. 05MEDHigh investment range ($201K-$551.5K) relative to undisclosed profitability is a major red flag
  6. 06HIGHNo litigation disclosed but going concern status may indicate underlying disputes or regulatory issues

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
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
4 hrs
On-the-job training
172 hrs
POS system
PAR Technology Corporation
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

33 numbers

Locked
(510) 467-••••
IRYNA ACCOUNTANCY CORPORATION
CA
(831) 438-••••
CA
(916) 510-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Erik’s DeliCafe · FDD (2025) PDF

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