Gordo’s Bubble WafflesFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Gordo’s Bubble Waffles franchise requires a total initial investment of $189K – $454K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $501K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $189K – $454K
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $501K
- 9th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Started franchising in 2025. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
58% cash-on-cash return (based on Adjusted Net Profit). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $189K – $454K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $501K/year, with an estimated 58% cash-on-cash return (based on Adjusted Net Profit).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 38/100.
- Revenue data based on only 2 reporting units. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Gordo’s Bubble Waffles Franchise LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Omar-Alfarouq H. Daher
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- WI
- HQ
- 2301 South Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207
- Auditor
- Divine, Blalock, Martin & Sellari, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- has not offered franchises in any line of business
- MOSB
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service food counters specializing in bubble waffle desserts (likely waffle-based treats with bubble tea or tapioca toppings). Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, customer service, and retail point-of-sale management, typically in high-foot-traffic locations like food courts or shopping centers.
- CEO
- Omar-Alfarouq H. Daher
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Rent, Utility Deposits and Security Deposits | $30K | $60K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $75K | $250K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Campaign | $5K | $8K | |
| Furniture Fixtures and Equipment | $5K | $15K | |
| Opening Inventory | $12K | $22K | |
| Professional Fees | $1K | $3K | |
| Signage | $7K | $14K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $2K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $1K | $2K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Training | $3K | $8K | |
| Office Equipment and Supplies | $4K | $6K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $10K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $189K | $454K |
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
$75K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
22%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $189K – $454K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 1.7 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $26K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Inventory (initial) | $12K – $22K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $501K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg adjusted net profit
- $186K
- Reported as Adjusted Net Profit in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 58.0%
- Based on Adjusted Net Profit / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $485K→$518K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Gordo’s Bubble Waffles Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Extremely early-stage franchisor with only 2 units, undisclosed growth plans, and going concern issues creates significant validation and survival risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Largest disclosed settlement: $95,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Divine, Blalock, Martin & Sellari, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 38 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 2 units in entire system with unknown growth trajectory—suggests early/stalled expansion
- 02HIGHGoing Concern flag is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 03MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed—cannot verify $501K revenue claims independently
- 04MINORWide investment range ($189K-$454K) with unclear cost drivers and scalability
- 05MEDHigh royalty burden (6%) plus franchise fee may strain margins on specialty food concept with limited unit density
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 15 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Gordo’s Bubble Waffles · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Gordo’s Bubble Waffles franchise?
The total investment to open a Gordo’s Bubble Waffles franchise ranges from $189K – $454K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Gordo’s Bubble Waffles franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Gordo’s Bubble Waffles FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $501K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Gordo’s Bubble Waffles's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Gordo’s Bubble Waffles (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 Gordo’s Bubble Waffles franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Gordo’s Bubble Waffles has 2 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Gordo’s Bubble Waffles a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Gordo’s Bubble Waffles as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 38 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.