Green + The Grain Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Formerly known as Green and the Grain
- Investment
- $402K – $1.4M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.2M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Green + The Grain is a fast-casual franchise serving fresh salads and grain bowls for busy customers. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing fresh prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A GREEN + THE GRAIN franchise requires a total initial investment of $402K – $1.4M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2024. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $402K – $1.4M
- 64th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 6
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · 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 $402K – $1.4M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.2M/year (company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance), with an estimated 13% cash-on-cash return (based on Net Income (before depreciation, taxes, loan repayment)).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 46/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- EARLYEmerging franchise: only 2 years of franchising with 6 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Green and the Grain Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Tiffany Hauser
- Incorporated in
- Minnesota
- HQ
- 200 South 6th Street, Suite 296, Minneapolis, MN 55402
- Auditor
- Boyum & Barenscheer PLLP
- Audited financials
Affiliated brands
- location in the future
- green and the grain
- locations
- GATG ROCHESTER
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Tiffany Hauser
- Headquarters
- Minnesota
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 85% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $80K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $302K | $1.3M |
| Total initial investment | $402K | $1.4M |
Source: GREEN + THE GRAIN 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $402K – $1.4M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $80K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 7.5 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $275 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 27% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for GREEN + THE GRAIN until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$965K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $218K as Net Income (before depreciation, taxes, loan repayment). This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for GREEN + THE GRAIN.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one GREEN + THE GRAIN unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Avg net income (before depreciation, taxes, loan repayment)
- $218K
- Reported as Net Income (before depreciation, taxes, loan repayment) in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 13.3%
- Based on Net Income (before depreciation, taxes, loan repayment) / investment midpoint
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
- 6 outlets
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $758K→$2.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 43 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 $1.2M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x. Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 8/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
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 Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Green + The Grain Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Boyum & Barenscheer PLLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 audited statements are for the franchisor green and the grain franchising LLC (FY ended Dec 31, 2025). Balance sheet reconciles: assets $52,701 = liabilities $53,377 + members' deficit $(676). Franchisor reported $0 revenue in FY2025 and FY2024 because no franchised restaurants had opened; initial franchise fees are deferred under ASC 606 ($50,000 deferred revenue at 12/31/2025). Recurring net losses of $97,865 (2025) and $179,811 (2024) drove members' equity to a $(676) deficit. Illinois AG required a surety bond due to the franchisor's financial condition. Item 19 avg_gross_sales ($1,242,154) reflects 2025 annual gross sales for 6 AFFILIATE-operated (not franchised) restaurants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro, unaudited; Location A includes mobile eatery/outpost/corporate cafeteria sales.
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 6 units in system with unknown growth trajectory suggests early-stage or stalled expansion
- 02MINOR18% net margin appears optimistic for QSR/restaurant concept without audited substantiation
- 03MINOR6% royalty on $1.19M average revenue = $71K annual fee creates thin margin for underperforming units
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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 | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | State where Restaurant is located |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 17 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 133 hrs
- Training location
- Minneapolis, Minnesota (GREEN + THE GRAIN University) and franchisee's Restaurant, plus virtual modules
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a GREEN + THE GRAIN franchise?
The total investment to open a GREEN + THE GRAIN franchise ranges from $402K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do GREEN + THE GRAIN franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the GREEN + THE GRAIN FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. Important context: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns GREEN + THE GRAIN?
GREEN + THE GRAIN is franchised by Green and the Grain Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the GREEN + THE GRAIN 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 + THE GRAIN FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is GREEN + THE GRAIN's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for GREEN + THE GRAIN (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 GREEN + THE GRAIN franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, GREEN + THE GRAIN has 6 total units in the United States.
Is GREEN + THE GRAIN a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates GREEN + THE GRAIN as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 46 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.