FranchiseVerdict
Flame Broiler logo
FV-00956·MODERATEStandard76

Flame Broiler

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 1999Website
Investment
$465K – $776K
61st pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
125
85th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $465K – $776K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 27 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -15.9% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
The Flame Broiler, Inc.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
1538 E. Warner Avenue, Suite E, Santa Ana, California 92705
Auditor
Macias Gini & O’Connell LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$12.0M
vs $14.4M 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 Flame Broiler unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $465K–$776K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $67K–$135K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

16%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$113K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$722K
Payback
77 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate quick-service flame-grilled chicken and protein restaurants, managing inventory, food preparation, customer service, and marketing at individual locations. Daily operations involve staffing, food sourcing, point-of-sale management, and maintaining brand standards across a menu-driven fast-casual model.

CEO
Young R. Lee
Founded
1996
FDD year
2025
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$465K – $776K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$67K – $135K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$35K
Royalty
5.0%
Net Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
3.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
125
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
8
Turnover rate
6.4%
Company-owned
14
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
89%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-7.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-15.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
111-7
Franchised units
2024
120
Franchised units
2025
132
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 5 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.

5

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
27
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

57
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE57 / 100

Flame Broiler presents meaningful risk: declining unit count, missing financial disclosure, unprotected territories, and an opaque profit model that prevents ROI validation.

Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 7.5% YoY (125 units) — indicates system contraction and weak franchisee performance or retention
  2. 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) — impossible to validate ROI claims or benchmark profitability
  3. 03MINORUnprotected territory — franchisees face direct competition from other Flame Broiler units and no exclusivity guarantee
  4. 04MEDHigh investment range ($464K–$776K) paired with 5% royalty on undisclosed sales — difficult to model payback period
  5. 05MINOR10-year term with $35K franchise fee — long commitment with moderate upfront cost and ongoing 5% drain on profits
  6. 06HIGHNo 'Going Concern' flag in FDD suggests potential financial stability issues with franchisor

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
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
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
60 hrs
On-the-job training
420 hrs
POS system
Brink POS
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

100 numbers

Locked
(916) 445-••••
CA
(626) 416-••••
CA
(619) 299-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Flame Broiler · FDD (2025) PDF

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