Family Fare Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Family Fare is a convenience-store franchise operating neighborhood gas-and-go retail sites. Franchisees run extended-hour stores managing fuel, in-store merchandise, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Family Fare franchise requires a total initial investment of $30K – $1.2M, including a $10K – $1.0M franchise fee. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $30K – $1.2M
- 1st pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 104
- 29th pct Retail
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Retail 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
- COSTTotal investment $30K – $1.2M including a $10K franchise fee.
- RETURNSItem 19 discloses historical transfer purchase prices paid by transferees who bought existing Family Fare stores from franchisees (Jan 1, 2018 - Dec 31, 2024), not gross sales. Prices ranged from $10,000 to $240,000. No average/median gross sales were disclosed.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 75/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports transfer prices rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- FAMILY FARE, LLC
- Parent company
- M. M. Fowler, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- M. L. Barnes, Jr. (69.7% owner); BFP LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (30.3% owner)
- Predecessor
- M. M. Fowler, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Marvin Barnes
- CEO experience
- 2003 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 4220 Neal Road, Durham, NC 27705
- Auditor
- B. Dane Byers, CPA, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $22.9M
- vs $21.7M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Marvin Barnes
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2003
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 46% above the typical retail franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $10K | $10K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $5K | $1.1M |
| Total initial investment | $30K | $1.2M |
Source: Family Fare 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
- $30K – $1.2M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $1.0M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- Continuing Royalty is a percentage of Franchisee's GROSS …
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Variable percentage of Gross Profit - Standard: 56%, Option A: 53%, Option B: 50% |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $31K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $0 – $0 |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Family Fare did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Family Fare unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
11%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses historical transfer purchase prices paid by transferees who bought existing Family Fare stores from franchisees (Jan 1, 2018 - Dec 31, 2024), not gross sales. Prices ranged from $10,000 to $240,000. No average/median gross sales were disclosed.
- Item 19 type
- transfer prices
- Sample size
- 68
- vs category median 47
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · below
Compared against 278 Retail brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports transfer prices rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+2.0% 3-year CAGR) with 104 units.
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 Retail averages
How Family Fare Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 104
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +2.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 7
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 12.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 4.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Family Fare presents high investment risk due to going concern status, predatory royalty structure, litigation history, unproven profitability, and lack of territory protection.
Litigation (Item 3)
2 concluded cases: (1) Elsayed & Salamah v. Family Fare LLC et al. (2018) - franchisee-brought multi-count suit; all claims dismissed in favor of franchisor. (2) Sanghrajka and Cary Foods v. Family Fare LLC (2017) - former franchisee suit; dismissed with prejudice, franchisor awarded $61,718.50 in fees.
Largest disclosed settlement: $61,718
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · B. Dane Byers, CPA, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing concern issue (False) indicates potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 02MINORExtremely high royalty rate of 56% of gross profit leaves minimal margin for franchisee profitability
- 03MINORNo revenue or net income disclosure prevents accurate ROI assessment
- 04MINORTwo lawsuits involving discrimination and misrepresentation claims suggest franchisor-franchisee relationship problems
- 05MINOR104 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests possible stagnation or contraction
- 06MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition between franchisees
- 07MINORWide investment range ($30K-$1.17M) indicates inconsistent unit economics
- 08MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard, creating renewal uncertainty
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 31 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 60 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 3 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 12 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Durham, NC (state court litigation only; no arbitration) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NC |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
2 concluded cases: (1) Elsayed & Salamah v. Family Fare LLC et al. (2018) - franchisee-brought multi-count suit; all claims dismissed in favor of franchisor. (2) Sanghrajka and Cary Foods v. Family Fare LLC (2017) - former franchisee suit; dismissed with prejudice, franchisor awarded $61,718.50 in fees.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 51 hrs
- Training location
- Service Collaboration and Support Center, Durham, NC or designated location; and at the store
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 14 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Electronic cash register / Computer Systems (provided by affiliate, included in rent)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Electronic cash register / Computer Systems (provided by affiliate, included in rent)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
106 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Family Fare · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Family Fare franchise?
The total investment to open a Family Fare franchise ranges from $30K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $10K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Family Fare franchise owners earn?
Family Fare does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Family Fare FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Family Fare FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Family Fare's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Family Fare (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 Family Fare franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Family Fare has 104 total units in the United States, including 104 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Family Fare a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Family Fare as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 75 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
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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.