Famous Dave’s
Bottom line
- Total investment $71K – $6.1M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.4M/year (median $2.5M).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (below the industry average).
- 16 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Famous Dave’s unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
13%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Famous Dave’s units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
27.6%
3.38× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.96×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$11.8M
on $24.0M purchase
Total debt
$12.2M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual dining barbecue restaurants serving smoked meats, ribs, and regional BBQ cuisine. Daily operations include food preparation, inventory management, staff supervision, customer service, and marketing compliance. Franchisees generate revenue through dine-in, takeout, and catering sales while managing P&L, lease obligations, and paying 5% royalties to the franchisor.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 28 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Famous Dave's presents HIGH RISK due to contracting unit base (-12% YoY), substantial litigation history involving franchise law violations, absence of financial transparency, lack of territorial protection, and unfavorable unit economics amid system decline.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count: 12% YoY contraction (116 units) suggests system-wide performance deterioration or franchisee exits
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation history: 16 concluded legal actions involving franchise law violations and misrepresentations indicate regulatory/compliance concerns and potential franchisor credibility issues
- 03MINORNo territory protection: Franchisees lack exclusive market rights, enabling cannibalization and direct franchisor competition
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio: $6.1M maximum investment against $2.4M average revenue yields unfavorable ROI prospects and extended payback periods
- 05MEDUndisclosed net income: Absence of Item 19 financial performance representation prevents realistic profitability assessment
- 06MINOR5% royalty on declining revenues: Franchisor revenue shrinking while franchisees bear fixed costs in contracting system
- 07MED10-year commitment term: Long lock-in period with limited exit flexibility in deteriorating franchise environment
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Famous Dave’s · FDD (2024) PDF