Green Mill Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Green Mill is a casual-dining franchise serving pizza, pasta, and wings in a restaurant-and-bar setting. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, bar, and dining service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Green Mill franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.7M – $2.5M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.7M – $2.5M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 16
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants 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 $1.7M – $2.5M including a $45K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAudited financial statement pages in Exhibit C are blank/not OCR-readable in the source text. The only franchisor revenue figure available is disclosed in Item 8: total revenues of $2,270,734.37 for the year ended December 31, 2022 (combined audited statements for Green Mill Restaurants, LLC and GMR, Inc.). FY2023 (most recent) revenue and balance-sheet figures are not recoverable from the text.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 54/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 10 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DATANo Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Green Mill Restaurants, LLC
- Parent company
- Hightop Brands, LLC
- Predecessor
- Green Mill Restaurants, Inc. (GMR Predecessor)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Director, Chairman of the Board, Member and Chief Executive Officer
- Paul Dzubnar
- CEO experience
- 2010 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MN
- HQ
- 1342 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.1M
- vs $2.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- of ours is Crooked Pint
- is Green Mill on the Go
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Paul Dzubnar
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 78% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45K | $45K | |
| Training-Related Expensesnot refundable | $90K | $115K | |
| Rent Security Deposit and First Month's Rent | $0 | $17K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $900K | $1.2M | |
| Equipment and Trade Fixturesnot refundable | $450K | $850K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $35K | $50K | |
| Opening Inventory and Smallwaresnot refundable | $50K | $70K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $10K | $20K | |
| Initial Advertising and Promotional Costs | $25K | $25K | |
| Miscellaneous Start-Up Costsnot refundable | $10K | $16K | |
| Liquor Licensenot refundable | $4K | $10K | |
| Quality Control Inspection Feenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Academy Feenot refundable | $1K | $1K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 monthsnot refundable | $50K | $75K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.7M | $2.5M |
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
- $1.7M – $2.5M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $9K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $50K – $70K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Green Mill did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Green Mill unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
4%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Audited financial statement pages in Exhibit C are blank/not OCR-readable in the source text. The only franchisor revenue figure available is disclosed in Item 8: total revenues of $2,270,734.37 for the year ended December 31, 2022 (combined audited statements for Green Mill Restaurants, LLC and GMR, Inc.). FY2023 (most recent) revenue and balance-sheet figures are not recoverable from the text.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.5% — below the Full-Service Restaurants average of 7.6%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System contracting at -15.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Green Mill Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 16
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.5%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -15.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -15.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 94.1%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 6.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 6.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 3 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
3
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 10
- Loan volume
- $7.5M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 5.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 21.6%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 588
- 26.5 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 57%
- top lender's share
Franchise vs independent — in full-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.6% vs 22.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 4% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Green Mill franchisees
Showing 3 of 4 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 Green Mill's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 3 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 2 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Green Mill presents elevated risk due to declining unit growth, opaque financials, substantial capital requirements, and apparent franchisor going concern issues.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $55,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
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
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 5.9% YoY (16 units) — indicates shrinking franchise system with potential viability concerns
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue/Net Income not provided) — impossible to validate ROI claims or unit economics
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($1.67M–$2.49M) paired with undisclosed profitability — extreme financial risk for franchisees
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests franchisor financial instability or operational challenges requiring investigation
- 05MINORSmall unit count (16 locations) limits support infrastructure, brand recognition, and supply chain leverage
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 15,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 10 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Minnesota (court, not arbitration) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MN |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 75 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Training location
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 80 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor must approve
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Ingage I.T. Infinity Service
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Ingage I.T. Infinity Service
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Green Mill · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Green Mill franchise?
The total investment to open a Green Mill franchise ranges from $1.7M – $2.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Green Mill franchise owners earn?
Green Mill does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Green Mill 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 Green Mill FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Green Mill's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Green Mill has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 10 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Green Mill franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Green Mill has 16 total units in the United States, including 16 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Green Mill a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Green Mill as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 54 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?
If you represent Green Mill, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.