Foster's Grille
Bottom line
- Total investment $259K – $539K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.0M/year (median $874K). Estimated payback in 3.9 years.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 7 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 FOSTER'S GRILLE unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
35%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 FOSTER'S GRILLE units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.6M
on $8.0M purchase
Total debt
$6.4M
SBA $4.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
FOSTER'S GRILLE franchisees operate a casual dining restaurant concept, managing day-to-day operations including food preparation, table service, inventory control, staffing, and customer experience. Franchisees oversee kitchen and front-of-house teams while maintaining brand standards, handling P&L responsibility, and driving local marketing to meet the $1M average revenue target.
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 · 14 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
Going concern status, stagnant unit count, missing financial disclosures, and thin margins indicate a struggling franchise system with uncertain franchisor stability and unproven unit economics.
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern Warning: Franchisor's ability to continue operations is questioned, indicating potential financial distress or viability issues
- 02MINORStagnant Unit Growth: Only 12 units with unknown/unclear growth trajectory suggests market rejection or expansion problems
- 03MINORNo Item 19 Financial Data: Absence of average unit volumes or profitability disclosures prevents validation of the $1M average revenue claim
- 04MINORHigh Investment-to-Net-Income Ratio: $258K–$539K investment against $101K average net income yields 2.5–5.3 year payback with significant downside risk
- 05MINORThin Operating Margins: 10.2% net margin ($101K/$1M) is concerning for restaurant/food service and leaves minimal cushion for underperformance
- 06MEDUndisclosed Growth Metrics: 'Unknown growth' in a 12-unit system raises questions about transparency and whether franchisees are actually succeeding
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
16 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
FOSTER'S GRILLE · FDD (2025) PDF