Ford’s GarageFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ford’s Garage franchise requires a total initial investment of $3.7M – $6.6M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $5.7M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $3.7M – $6.6M
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $5.7M
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 29
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchised units fell from 28 to 20 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $3.7M – $6.6M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $5.7M/year (median $5.5M), with an estimated 11% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 21/100.
- System growing at 40.0% CAGR over 3 years with 29 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Vintage Hospitality Group, LLC
- Parent company
- Motor City Holdings, LLC
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 501 N Reo Street, Suite 102, Tampa, Florida 33609
- Auditor
- GBQ Partners LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $5.4M
- vs $5.5M prior year
Overview
About
Ford's Garage franchisees operate American-casual dining restaurants combining handcrafted burgers, craft beverages, and Ford-themed ambiance. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and front-of-house staff, inventory control, customer service, local marketing, and maintaining brand standards across food preparation and hospitality.
- CEO
- William T. Downs III
- Headquarters
- FL
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Team Expensesnot refundable | $100K | $150K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $50K | $100K | |
| Lease Payments 6 Monthsnot refundable | $60K | $300K | |
| Security Deposit | $12K | $300K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $1.2M | $3.2M | |
| Computer Equipment and Softwarenot refundable | $120K | $200K | |
| Office Expensesnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $50K | $100K | |
| Furniture and Equipmentnot refundable | $950K | $1.3M | |
| Utilitiesnot refundable | $500 | $15K | |
| Uniformsnot refundable | $10K | $20K | |
| Inventorynot refundable | $60K | $100K | |
| Architecture Feesnot refundable | $50K | $150K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $100K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $2K | $150K | |
| Legal and Accountingnot refundable | $5K | $25K | |
| Dues and Subscriptionsnot refundable | $300 | $1K | |
| Additional Fundsnot refundable | $100K | $400K | |
| Total initial investment | $2.8M | $6.6M |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$659K
11.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $3.7M – $6.6M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $400K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 9.1 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $50 |
| Inventory (initial) | $60K – $100K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $5.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $5.5M
- Avg ebitda
- $568K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 11.0%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 24 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $3.5M→$8.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $4.2M→$7.2M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Ford’s Garage Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 29
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +21.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +40.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 4 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 4
- Loan volume
- $4.2M
- Median loan
- $1.0M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Ford’s Garage's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 2 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Caution-level risk: high capital requirement with thin margins, unverified financial claims, and rapid growth in small system warrant thorough validation before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · GBQ Partners LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 21 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($3.7M-$6.6M) with modest average net income ($568K) yields 9-12 year payback period, creating significant financial risk
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — inability to verify if $5.73M average revenue and $568K net income are typical or outlier results
- 03MINORRapid unit growth (21.7% YoY) may indicate aggressive recruitment outpacing support infrastructure; 29-unit system still relatively small and unproven at scale
- 04MINORRoyalty structure excludes merchandise and gift card sales, potentially creating hidden revenue gaps and franchisor incentive misalignment
- 05MINORNet profit margin of only 9.9% ($568K/$5.73M) is thin for QSR-hybrid model, leaving little buffer for underperforming locations or economic downturns
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Designated Marketing Area (DMA) |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 3 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 12 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 420 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Aloha POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
33 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ford’s Garage · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ford’s Garage franchise?
The total investment to open a Ford’s Garage franchise ranges from $3.7M – $6.6M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ford’s Garage franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Ford’s Garage FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $5.7M. The median is $5.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Ford’s Garage's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ford’s Garage (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 Ford’s Garage franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ford’s Garage has 29 total units in the United States, including 28 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ford’s Garage a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ford’s Garage as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 21 out of 100, 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.
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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.