Farmer Boys Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Farmer Boys is a California fast-casual franchise serving farm-fresh burgers, big breakfasts, and salads. Franchisees run restaurants with drive-thru and dine-in service, managing food prep and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Farmer Boys franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.6M – $3.2M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.4M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.0% charge-off rate across 20 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.6M – $3.2M
- 98th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Net sales34th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 102
- 77th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 10.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants 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 $1.6M – $3.2M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.4M/year (median $2.3M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 65/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.0% across 20 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Farmer Boys Franchising Co.
- Parent company
- Farmer Boys Food Inc.
- Predecessor
- Farmer Boys Food Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
- George A. Havadjias
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 3452 University Avenue, Riverside, CA 92501
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly US, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $17.9M
- vs $18.3M prior year
Affiliated brands
- and which the franchisee leases or subleases the Restaurant premises from the owner or tenant
- Havadjia Holdings
- Farmer Boys Vegas
- Farmer Boys Interstate Franchising
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- George A. Havadjias
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1997
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 262% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $45K | |
| Real Estate (includes security deposit and first months' rent on land lease) | $24K | $48K | |
| Furniture, Equipment and Signs | $650K | $850K | |
| Construction of Building and Surroundings | $635K | $1.8M | |
| Insurance | $10K | $15K | |
| Initial Inventory | $15K | $20K | |
| Training Expenses | $110K | $180K | |
| Lodging Expenses | $12K | $36K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $2K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $20K | |
| Point of Sale | $28K | $41K | |
| Additional Funds | $69K | $149K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.6M | $3.2M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.6M – $3.2M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $69K – $149K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $180K |
| Transfer fee | $23K |
| Renewal fee | $11K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 106% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Farmer Boys until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$2.5M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Farmer Boys unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $2.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.3M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- net sales
- Sample size
- 65 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1.2M→$5.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.7M→$3.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.4M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+1.4% 3-year CAGR) with 102 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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Farmer Boys Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 102
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 30
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 71%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +1.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 9
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 20
- Loan volume
- $21.4M
- Median loan
- $1.0M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 10.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 90.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 1
- Typical loan rate
- 6.4%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 774
- 3.6 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 65%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 38% went to startups / new businesses, 62% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 10.8% vs 10.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Farmer Boys franchisees
Showing 3 of 6 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Farmer Boys's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 6 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 10.0% — 38% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Farmer Boys as plaintiff in arbitration against 3 franchisee entities and principal Michael Ledbetter for abandonment of Restaurants and breach of franchise agreements; Final Award issued Nov 15 2024 in favor of Farmer Boys ($903,549.70 damages plus $89,017.05 costs); Judgment confirmed April 24 2025
Largest disclosed settlement: $903,549
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly US, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenues of $17,925,157 for fiscal year ended February 2, 2025, comprised of royalty fee revenue $10,850,050, advertising fund revenue $6,574,594, franchise fee revenue $138,636, and vendor rebates $361,877.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 verdict
- 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
- 05MINORNo going concern statement raises questions about franchisor financial stability and long-term viability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Riverside, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Farmer Boys as plaintiff in arbitration against 3 franchisee entities and principal Michael Ledbetter for abandonment of Restaurants and breach of franchise agreements; Final Award issued Nov 15 2024 in favor of Farmer Boys ($903,549.70 damages plus $89,017.05 costs); Judgment confirmed April 24 2025
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 67 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 473 hrs
- Training location
- Affiliate-owned Farmer Boys Restaurant and Farmer Boys headquarters, Riverside, CA
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 24 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Maitre D
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Maitre D
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
98 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Farmer Boys · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Farmer Boys franchise?
The total investment to open a Farmer Boys franchise ranges from $1.6M – $3.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Farmer Boys franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Farmer Boys FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.4M. The median is $2.3M. Important context: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Farmer Boys 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 Farmer Boys FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Farmer Boys's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Farmer Boys has a charge-off rate of 10.0% across 20 loans, meaning 10.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Farmer Boys franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Farmer Boys has 102 total units in the United States, including 72 franchised units and 30 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Farmer Boys a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Farmer Boys as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 65 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.