HAPPY JOE’S Area Director Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $253K – $846K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Happy Joe's is a pizza restaurant franchise serving signature pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, and ice cream, offered here as an area director opportunity. Area directors develop territories and support franchisees who run the restaurants.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise requires a total initial investment of $253K – $846K and an ongoing 1.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
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 scored2 of 3 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $253K – $846K
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset1 outlet
- Royalty
- 1.0%
- 0th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-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 $253K – $846K, 1.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 describes the restaurants an area director supervises, not area-director economics. Those restaurant figures are not what a buyer of this area-director franchise earns, so they are not published here.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 34/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative: net -1 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 1 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Happy Joe's Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Dynamic Restaurant Franchising, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Dynamic Restaurant Holdings, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- 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
- $1.4M
- vs $1.3M 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
- CEO
- Thomas Sacco
- Headquarters
- IA
- Founded
- 2000
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 19% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
The filing does not state an initial franchise fee.
Full Item 7 breakdown5 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $253K – $846K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $5K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- N/A
- Fee not disclosed
- Royalty
- 1.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- -n/d
- Total fee load
- 35.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 1.0% |
| Technology fee | $35 |
| Training fee | $400 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $29K |
| Total fee load | 35.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for HAPPY JOE’S Area Director is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one HAPPY JOE’S Area Director 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 annual revenue, ad fund rate, 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.
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
Item 19 describes the restaurants an area director supervises, not area-director economics. Those restaurant figures are not what a buyer of this area-director franchise earns, so they are not published here.
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 35.0% — above the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales and income statement rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth roughly flat at 0.0%.
Multi-unit rate
Only 7% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 medians
How HAPPY JOE’S Area Director Compares
Category median of published Full-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
- 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 (3-yr)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 1
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- MN 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 3 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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.
No litigation disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
CEO Thomas Sacco was CEO of Flipdaddy's LLC which filed Chapter 11 on Dec 6, 2018 (dismissed Feb 9, 2021). Four operating affiliates (HJ Dynamic Holdings LLC, TS Dynamic Holdings LLC, Dynamic Restaurant Acquisition Inc., TS Dynamic Acquisition Inc.) filed Chapter 11 on Sep 2, 2022; Plan of Reorganization approved Apr 26, 2023.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · UHY LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 19 describes the restaurants an area director supervises, not area-director economics. Those restaurant figures are not what a buyer of this area-director franchise earns, so they are not published here. Franchisor total revenue of $1,413,910 for fiscal year ended September 30, 2025, cited in Item 8 from audited financial statements. Full audited financial statements (balance sheets, statements of operations, stockholder's equity, cash flows for FY2025/2024/2023) are referenced as attached in Exhibit A per Item 21 but are not present in this text; auditor name and balance-sheet figures unavailable.
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 34 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 50% YoY indicates system collapse or major structural problems
- 02MINORNo territory protection exposes franchisees to direct competition from other franchisees
- 03MINORWide investment range ($252K-$846K) with only $111K avg net income = 2.3-7.6 year payback at best
- 04MINORNo royalties may signal franchisor struggling to fund support; single remaining unit is extreme concentration risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 35.0% 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 |
| Territory type | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not 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 |
| Arbitration location | Iowa |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | TX |
| 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/Bettendorf, Iowa and selected Happy Joe's restaurants
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 335 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 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 HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise?
The total investment to open a HAPPY JOE’S Area Director franchise ranges from $253K – $846K. 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?
Item 19 of the HAPPY JOE’S Area Director FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns HAPPY JOE’S Area Director?
HAPPY JOE’S Area Director is franchised by Happy Joe's Franchising, Inc.. Its parent company is Dynamic Restaurant Franchising, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Dynamic Restaurant Holdings, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the HAPPY JOE’S Area Director 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 HAPPY JOE’S Area Director FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 34 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
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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.