Great American Cookies
Formerly known as Global Auto Care
Bottom line
- Total investment $341K – $463K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $540K/year (median $510K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 124 loans (below the industry average).
- No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
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 GREAT AMERICAN COOKIES unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
20%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 GREAT AMERICAN COOKIES units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$864K
on $4.3M purchase
Total debt
$3.5M
SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate cookie retail locations selling freshly baked cookies and related bakery items through mall kiosks, standalone stores, or co-branded locations. Day-to-day operations include baking inventory, customer service, point-of-sale management, and inventory/supply chain coordination under strict FAT Brands operational standards.
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 · 17 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
High-risk franchise investment in declining system with active litigation, undisclosed profitability metrics, no territory protection, and regulatory compliance violations by parent company.
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.2% YoY) indicates contracting franchise system with 395 units and negative momentum
- 02MINORMultiple active securities class action lawsuits against parent FAT Brands and officers raise governance and transparency concerns
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD despite $539,902 average revenue, preventing accurate ROI calculation and profitability verification
- 04MINORZero territory protection exposes franchisees to direct competition from other GAC locations and parent company cannibalization
- 05MINORState regulatory actions against affiliates for registration and financial reporting inaccuracies suggest systemic compliance issues
- 06MINOR6% royalty on declining average revenues ($539,902) may not support franchisor infrastructure as system contracts
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
98 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
GREAT AMERICAN COOKIES · FDD (2025) PDF