Bottom line
- Total investment $1.6M – $3.2M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.4M/year (median $2.3M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 27 loans (below the industry average).
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 Farmer Boys unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
14%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Farmer Boys units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
30.1%
3.72× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.68×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$8.4M
on $19.2M purchase
Total debt
$10.7M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Farmer Boys franchisees operate fast-casual restaurants serving farm-to-table burgers, breakfast items, and salads with a regional California presence. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and compliance with brand standards across a protected territory, typically generating ~$2.4M in annual revenue.
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 · 4 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
Farmer Boys presents moderate-to-cautious risk: minimal unit growth, withheld profitability data, recent franchisee litigation, and high capital requirements create uncertainty around unit economics and system health.
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth at 1.4% YoY indicates system maturation or contraction pressure with only 102 units
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI analysis and profit transparency
- 03HIGHRecent litigation ($903k+ awarded against franchisees) suggests franchise relationship tensions and enforcement issues
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($1.6M-$3.2M) paired with undisclosed profitability creates significant capital-at-risk exposure
- 05HIGHNo going concern statement raises questions about franchisor financial stability and long-term viability
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
83 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Farmer Boys · FDD (2025) PDF