Huddle HouseFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Huddle House franchise requires a total initial investment of $552K – $1.4M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.8% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $818K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 26.2% charge-off rate across 134 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $552K – $1.4M
- 35th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $818K
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.8%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 272
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 26.2%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
26.2% of SBA loans charged off across 134 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1966. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The system contracted 7% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $552K – $1.4M including a $35K franchise fee, 4.8% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $818K/year (median $810K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 26.2% across 134 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -14.6% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- HUDDLE HOUSE, INC.
- Parent company
- Peachtree Parentco, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Huddle House Holdings, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 5901-B Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Suite 450, Sandy Springs, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- Frazier & Deeter, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $106.6M
- vs $114.7M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- of HHI
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual dining restaurants serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a quick-service or fast-casual format. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and front-of-house staff, inventory procurement, food preparation, customer service, and local marketing to drive foot traffic and repeat business across day-parts.
- CEO
- James O’Reilly
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1964
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 21
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 36 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Traditional Unit) | $35K | $35K | |
| Training Fee and Travel and Living Expenses While Training (Traditional) | $23K | $47K | |
| Real Estate - Rent for First 3 months (Traditional) | $17K | $25K | |
| Improvements (Traditional) | $160K | $723K | |
| Equipment and Seating (Traditional) | $170K | $300K | |
| Signs and Decor (Traditional) | $32K | $50K | |
| Site Engineering/Civil Plans (Traditional) | $8K | $21K | |
| Architectural/MEP Drawings (Traditional) | $5K | $30K | |
| Travel Expenses for Opening Guide Meeting (Traditional) | $0 | $750 | |
| Smallwares, Small Equipment, Opening Inventory and Uniforms (Traditional) | $28K | $62K | |
| POS System (Traditional) | $6K | $25K | |
| Help Desk and Maintenance - first 3 months (Traditional) | $750 | $900 | |
| Hardware and Software Components - Computer Security (Traditional) | $2K | $3K | |
| Other Computer and Technology Expenses - first 3 months (Traditional) | $2K | $4K | |
| Grand Opening Promotion (Traditional) | $3K | $5K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs (Traditional) | $4K | $9K | |
| Security Deposit (Traditional) | $8K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Traditional) | $50K | $75K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Non-Traditional Unit) | $15K | $15K | |
| Training Fee and Travel and Living Expenses While Training (Non-Traditional) | $23K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $936K | $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.
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
$84K
10.3% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $552K – $1.4M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $75K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.8%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 32.8%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.8% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $25 |
| Training fee | $12K |
| Transfer fee | $9K |
| Renewal fee | $9K |
| Inventory (initial) | $28K – $62K |
| Total fee load | 32.8% of rev |
At 32.8% total fee load, roughly $268K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $818K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $810K
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 264 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $159K→$2.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $370K→$1.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Huddle House Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 272
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 22
- Turnover rate
- 8.1%
- Company-owned
- 56
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 79%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -6.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -14.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 6
- Terminated (3yr)
- 8
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 4
- Transfers (3yr)
- 17
- Transfer rate
- 6.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 4.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 21 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 134
- Loan volume
- $54.8M
- Median loan
- $324K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 26.2%
- 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)
- 75.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 45
- Defaults
- 28
Vintage analysis
Huddle House charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Huddle House's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 28-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 26.2% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Contracting franchise system with litigation history, missing profitability data, and high capital requirements presents meaningful risk for ROI recovery.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two pending cases: (1) Stowers v. HHI - fraudulent inducement and misrepresentation claims filed 12/29/2014 in West Virginia state court; (2) HHI v. Huddle House 968, LLC - franchisor seeking injunctive relief and damages for unauthorized use of marks and breach of post-termination obligations filed 8/4/2020 in Georgia state court.
Largest disclosed settlement: $167,595
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Frazier & Deeter, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 68 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 6.5% YoY (272 units) signals system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02HIGHNine total legal actions including fraudulent inducement and breach of contract claims suggest governance and disclosure issues
- 03MINORNo Average Net Income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation despite $818k average revenue — critical transparency gap
- 04MEDHigh initial investment range ($551k–$1.43M) combined with undisclosed profitability creates significant capital risk
- 05MINOR4.75% royalty on declining sales base may become unsustainable as system shrinks further
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 9 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two pending cases: (1) Stowers v. HHI - fraudulent inducement and misrepresentation claims filed 12/29/2014 in West Virginia state court; (2) HHI v. Huddle House 968, LLC - franchisor seeking injunctive relief and damages for unauthorized use of marks and breach of post-termination obligations filed 8/4/2020 in Georgia state court.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 108 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 346 hrs
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR Aloha Point of Sale Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha Point of Sale Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
246 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Huddle House · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Huddle House franchise?
The total investment to open a Huddle House franchise ranges from $552K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Huddle House franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Huddle House FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $818K. The median is $810K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Huddle House's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Huddle House has a charge-off rate of 26.2% across 134 loans, meaning 26.2% 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 Huddle House franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Huddle House has 272 total units in the United States, including 216 franchised units and 56 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Huddle House a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Huddle House as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 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.
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.