Gatsby Glass Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Gatsby Glass is a home- and commercial-services franchise that sells and installs custom glass, shower enclosures, mirrors, railings, and storefront glass. Franchisees run a glass shop handling sales, fabrication, and installation in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Gatsby Glass franchise requires a total initial investment of $196K – $256K, including a $60K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 4.7% charge-off rate across 43 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $196K – $256K
- 76th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 24th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 94
- 58th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- 4.7%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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 $196K – $256K including a $60K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $884K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 4.7% across 43 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- HPB Glass LLC
- Parent company
- JEZ Investments LLC
- Predecessor
- BJSD Acquisition, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Anthony "Tony" Hulbert
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 2525 N. 117th Avenue, Third Floor, Omaha, NE 68164
- Auditor
- Forvis Mazars, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.8M
- vs $1.4M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- HorsePower Nation
- HPB Glass Holdings
- HPB Automotive Sales
- HPB Accounting
- HPB Blinds and Shutters
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Anthony "Tony" Hulbert
- Headquarters
- NE
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 16
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown21 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $60K | $60K | |
| Insurance (90 days)not refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Tuition Feenot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses while Trainingnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Opening Packagenot refundable | $12K | $15K | |
| Initial Inventory Packagenot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Rent & Utilities (90 days)not refundable | $6K | $14K | |
| Vehiclesnot refundable | $36K | $41K | |
| Licenses Certificates and Permitsnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $1K | $11K | |
| Technology Feenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Special Software Feenot refundable | $900 | $900 | |
| Contact Center Feenot refundable | $1K | $4K | |
| Dues and Subscriptionsnot refundable | $800 | $2K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Brand Marketing Feenot refundable | $16K | $16K | |
| Initial Marketing Expenditure and Local Advertising Expenditure (90 days)not refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Digital Management Feenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Accounting Services Feenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| ZeePartnerships Feenot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $196K | $256K |
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
- $196K – $256K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of tiered % of Gross Revenues (5% up to $1M, 4% $…
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $792 |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 9% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$147K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
58%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
21 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Gatsby Glass unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
58%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Gatsby Glass units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.4M
on $6.8M purchase
Total debt
$5.4M
SBA $3.4M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $884K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 8 franchisees
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $596K→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 321 Home Services brands
Revenue is 5.0x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $1.1M/year in gross sales. Median is $884K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 5.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Home Services average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 944.4% CAGR over 3 years across 94 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Home Services averages
How Gatsby Glass Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 94
- Opened
- 76
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 32
- Terminated
- 32
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 34.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 76
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 32
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 8
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- South Dakota
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 43
- Loan volume
- $13.2M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 4.7%
- 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)
- 95.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 25.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 2
- Typical loan rate
- 10.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- 14.3%
- brand is below its industry ↓
- Jobs supported
- 323
- 2.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 56%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Top lenders financing Gatsby Glass 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 Gatsby Glass'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 4-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Gatsby Glass presents meaningful investment risk due to contracting unit base, unresolved parent company litigation, and absent profitability disclosures despite substantial franchise fees.
Litigation (Item 3)
One arbitration (Beutler Holdings v. Skolnick/JEZ Investments) filed Dec 2025 regarding governance/ownership of parent company JEZ Investments LLC. Franchisor is not a named respondent but disclosed as material civil action involving parent.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Forvis Mazars, LLP⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 12% YoY (94 units, 88% retention) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHActive litigation involving parent company ownership/governance raises questions about franchisor stability and leadership direction
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 makes ROI impossible to verify; only average revenue of $1.13M provided without profitability context
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($195k-$256k) combined with undisclosed net income creates significant financial risk for franchisees
- 05MINORMinimum royalty fee of $500/month ($6,000 annually) creates cash flow pressure for struggling locations, especially in early years
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | PA |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One arbitration (Beutler Holdings v. Skolnick/JEZ Investments) filed Dec 2025 regarding governance/ownership of parent company JEZ Investments LLC. Franchisor is not a named respondent but disclosed as material civil action involving parent.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 58 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 58 hrs
- Training location
- Omaha, Nebraska (Phase III in-person); Phases I & II via online/webinar
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval required
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- e-CCM System / Required Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: e-CCM System / Required Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
33 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Gatsby Glass · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Gatsby Glass franchise?
The total investment to open a Gatsby Glass franchise ranges from $196K – $256K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Gatsby Glass franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Gatsby Glass FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $884K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Gatsby Glass 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 Gatsby Glass FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Gatsby Glass's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Gatsby Glass has a charge-off rate of 4.7% across 43 loans, meaning 4.7% 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 Gatsby Glass franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Gatsby Glass has 94 total units in the United States, including 94 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 76 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Gatsby Glass a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Gatsby Glass as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
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.