HAPPY JOE’S Area DirectorFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise requires a total initial investment of $253K – $846K, including a $240K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $969K[2]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $253K – $846K
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $969K
- 9th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 1
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
The system contracted 50% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
20% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $253K – $846K including a $240K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $969K/year (median $948K), with an estimated 20% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 84/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HAPPY JOE'S FRANCHISING, INC.
- Parent company
- Dynamic Restaurant Franchising, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Dynamic Restaurant Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Thomas Sacco
- Incorporated in
- IA
- HQ
- 5239 Grand Avenue, Davenport, Iowa 52807
- Auditor
- UHY LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.3M
- vs $1.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchisee Advisory Board
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Dynamic Restaurant Acquisition
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Happy Joe's Area Directors typically oversee regional operations for a pizza/casual dining concept, managing multiple locations, staff training, quality control, and local marketing. Day-to-day activities include staff scheduling, supplier relationships, customer service oversight, and P&L management across their territory. The model appears to be struggling significantly given the 50% decline in active units.
- CEO
- Thomas Sacco
- Headquarters
- IA
- Founded
- 2000
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 5 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area Director Feenot refundable | $240K | $800K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $6K | |
| Training & Expenses | $0 | $30K | |
| Office Equipment and supplies | $5K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $5K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $253K | $846K |
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
$87K
9.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
16%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $253K – $846K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $5K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $240K – $800K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- None
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 35.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.9 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $35 |
| Training fee | $400 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $29K |
| Total fee load | 35.0% of rev |
At 35.0% total fee load, roughly $339K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $969K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $948K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $111K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.3%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned and Franchised Outlets
- Range (low → high)
- $201K→$2.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How HAPPY JOE’S Area Director Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 100.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 7.1%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -50.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 3
- 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
A collapsing franchise system with 50% unit attrition, going concern status, unprotected territory, and unverified financials presents extreme execution risk despite lack of formal litigation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Largest disclosed settlement: $800,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Four operating affiliates filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 2, 2022: HJ Dynamic Holdings, LLC (No. 22-10837), TS Dynamic Holdings, LLC (No. 22-10838), Dynamic Restaurant Acquisition, Inc. (No. 22-10839), and TS Dynamic Acquisition, Inc. (No. 22-10840), all in Delaware. Plan of Reorganization approved April 26, 2023. Principal business address: 5239 Grand Avenue, Davenport, Iowa 52807. Filing was for lease liability protection and did not involve the franchisor or franchise system.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · UHY 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 84 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 50% YoY indicates system collapse or major structural problems
- 02HIGHGoing Concern warning suggests franchisor financial distress or viability questions
- 03MINORNo territory protection exposes franchisees to direct competition from other franchisees
- 04MINORWide investment range ($252K-$846K) with only $111K avg net income = 2.3-7.6 year payback at best
- 05MINORNo royalties may signal franchisor struggling to fund support; single remaining unit is extreme concentration risk
- 06MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure prevents verification of claimed revenue/income figures
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Geographic area |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| 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 | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 11 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 335 hrs
- Training location
- Davenport, Iowa and Selected Happy Joe's restaurants
- Field support
- 335 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
HAPPY JOE’S Area Director · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise?
The total investment to open a HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise ranges from $253K – $846K, with an initial franchise fee of $240K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the HAPPY JOE’S Area Director FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $969K. The median is $948K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is HAPPY JOE’S Area Director's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for HAPPY JOE’S Area Director (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 HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, HAPPY JOE’S Area Director has 1 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is HAPPY JOE’S Area Director a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates HAPPY JOE’S Area Director as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 84 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.