FranchiseVerdict
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FV-01099·STRONGExcellent91

Grain & Berry

Food & Beverage - Coffee & TeaFranchising since 2017Website
Investment
$258K – $674K
40th pct Coffee & Tea
Avg revenue
$1.2M
36th pct Coffee & Tea
Royalty
6.0%
50th pct Coffee & Tea
Units
16
61st pct Coffee & Tea
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $258K – $674K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.1M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 50 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC
Parent company
Acai Group, LLC
Incorporated in
Florida
HQ
3152 Little Rd., Suite 324, Trinity, Florida 34655-1864
Auditor
HACKER, JOHNSON & SMITH PA
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$751K
vs $854K 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 Grain & Berry unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,158,554
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $258K–$674K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$40K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

26%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$127K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$491K
Payback
46 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 Grain & Berry units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$927K

on $4.6M purchase

Total debt

$3.7M

SBA $2.3M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual, health-focused food concepts (likely acai bowls, smoothies, grain-based dishes) in retail/high-traffic locations, managing daily POS operations, staff, inventory, and customer service. Day-to-day responsibilities include food prep oversight, labor scheduling, marketing execution, and P&L management across a standardized menu.

CEO
Jack E. Kessler III
Founded
2017
FDD year
2024
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$258K – $674K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $40K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.2M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.1M
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
13 units
vs category median 13
Range (low → high)
$941K$1.8M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Revenue rank36th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Investment cost rank40th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank50th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank61th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Risk score rank5th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
16
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
88%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+40.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+55.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2022
14+3
Franchised units
2023
10
Franchised units
2024
9
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 6 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 · 6 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
50
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

42
Risk · 0-100
STRONG42 / 100

Grain & Berry shows growth momentum but lacks transparent profitability disclosure and exhibits concerning corporate financial reporting gaps that warrant deep validation before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNet Income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims against $1.16M average revenue
  2. 02MINORWide investment range ($258K–$673.5K) suggests high variability in unit economics and startup costs
  3. 03MINORRapid 40% YoY unit growth may indicate aggressive recruitment outpacing sustainable unit performance
  4. 04HIGHNo 'Going Concern' statement filed — potential financial stability questions at corporate level
  5. 05MED6% royalty on undisclosed net income creates opacity around actual franchisee take-home profitability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
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
Florida

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
74 hrs
On-the-job training
86 hrs
POS system
Toast POS
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

18 numbers

Locked
(260) 387-••••
Michelle and Robert Thomas Fort Wayne,
IN
(256) 762-••••
Joe Kennington, Tracy Marion, and Frank Williams Sr. Huntsville,
AL
(615) 953-••••
Keith and Nicole Brant Nashville Location
TN

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Grain & Berry · FDD (2024) PDF

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