FranchiseVerdict
FUZZY’S TACO SHOP logo
FV-01028·MODERATEExcellent95

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2008Website
Investment
$647K – $1.6M
76th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.6M
33rd pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
117
85th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $647K – $1.6M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.8M).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 56 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -13.4% 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
Fuzzy’s Taco Opportunities, LLC
Parent company
Dine Brands Global, Inc.
Incorporated in
Texas
HQ
4200 Regent Blvd., Suite C-210, Irving, Texas 75063
Auditor
Ernst & Young LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$15.9M
vs $14.5M 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 FUZZY’S TACO SHOP unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,586,988
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: $647K–$1.6M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $20K–$70K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

22%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$254K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$1.1M
Payback
54 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 FUZZY’S TACO SHOP units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

35.3%

4.54× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.31×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$5.0M

on $14.3M purchase

Total debt

$9.3M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($7.1M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Fuzzy's Taco Shop franchisees operate quick-service Mexican food restaurants serving tacos, burritos, and related items in protected territories. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, food preparation, staffing, POS management, and local marketing to drive the ~$1.59M average unit volume.

CEO
Patrick Kirk
Founded
2003
FDD year
2025
States available
15

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$647K – $1.6M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$20K – $70K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.6M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.8M
Item 19 type
Historical Gross Sales
Sample size
106 units
vs category median 15 · large
Range (low → high)
$554K$4.0M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank33th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank76th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank15th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank85th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank45th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
117
Opened
3
Last reporting year
Closed
18
Turnover rate
15.4%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
99%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-11.5%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-13.4%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
116-15
Franchised units
2024
131
Franchised units
2025
134
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 14 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
56
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

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

Fuzzy's Taco Shop presents HIGH RISK due to accelerating unit decline (-11.5% YoY), active multi-unit litigation alleging unauthorized closures, undisclosed profitability, and questionable corporate going concern status.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 11.5% YoY (117 units) indicating system contraction and franchisee struggles
  2. 02MINORThree active arbitration cases alleging unauthorized closures suggest franchisor-franchisee relationship breakdown and possible systemic operational issues
  3. 03MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents accurate ROI assessment despite $1.56M maximum investment requirement
  4. 04HIGHGoing concern status = False indicates potential financial instability at corporate level affecting support and longevity
  5. 05MINORHigh initial investment range ($647K-$1.56M) paired with declining unit count creates poor risk-reward profile
  6. 06HIGH5% royalty on $1.59M average revenue = $79,500 annual franchisor take; insufficient to support multi-unit litigation and operations

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
3
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
Optional
Governing law
Texas

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
16 hrs
On-the-job training
185 hrs
POS system
Radiant Systems Aloha Point of Sale System
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

75 numbers

Locked
(214) 244-••••
TX
(903) 462-••••
TX
(405) 378-••••
OK

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

FUZZY’S TACO SHOP · FDD (2025) PDF

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