Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Hurricane Grill & Wings is a casual-dining franchise serving jumbo wings, burgers, tacos, and a full bar in a tropical setting. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, bar, and dining service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings franchise requires a total initial investment of $854K – $2.9M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $854K – $2.9M
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Outlet subsetNet sales8th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 38
- 25th 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 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 $854K – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.8M/year (median $1.6M) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 53/100 (higher is better).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -7.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Hurricane AMT, LLC
- Parent company
- FAT Brands Royalty I, LLC (direct parent); FAT Brands, Inc. (ultimate parent)
- Ultimate parent
- FAT Brands, Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 9720 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 500, Beverly Hills, California 90212
- Auditor
- Macias Gini & O'Connell LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.5M
- vs $4.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1991
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 63% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $774K | $2.8M |
| Total initial investment | $854K | $2.9M |
Source: Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings 2025 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
- $854K – $2.9M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of net sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $48K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $26K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the full-service restaurants norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings 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
$1.9M
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
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 Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.6M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- net sales and cost data
- Sample size
- 25 outlets
- vs category median 18
- Range (low → high)
- $566K→$5.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 802 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
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 $1.8M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.9x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -7.3% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 18% 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 averages
How Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 38
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 7.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 17.6%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -7.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -7.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 5.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 7.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $2.5M
- Median loan
- $494K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (5 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
High-risk franchise with declining unit count, active litigation regarding securities and marketing fund practices, undisclosed profitability metrics, and franchisor financial distress indicators that suggest significant operational and legal risk to prospective investors.
Litigation (Item 3)
Pending: (1) Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands securities class action (2024); (2) Franchisee group (20 plaintiffs) v. Hurricane AMT marketing fund misuse (2024). Franchisor-initiated: 6 AAA arbitration demands filed April 2025 against former franchisees for payment/inspection obligations. Several concluded cases involving FAT Brands securities litigation and affiliate regulatory matters.
Largest disclosed settlement: $2,500,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Macias Gini & O'Connell LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 1 discloses franchisor's total revenue for fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 was $4,514,288, none of which was derived from required purchases or leases. Audited consolidated financial statements (Exhibit A) audited by Macias Gini & O'Connell LLP (opinion dated April 11, 2025) for fiscal years ended December 29, 2024 and December 31, 2023; FY2022 audited by other auditors. Balance sheet / statement of operations detail figures (assets, liabilities, member's equity, net income) not present in extracted text.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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 53 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 5.0% YoY (41 units) indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02HIGHActive litigation including putative class action on securities statements and franchisee lawsuit over marketing fund misuse suggests governance and transparency issues
- 03MINORNo net income disclosure despite $1.77M average revenue raises profitability questions and transparency concerns
- 04HIGHMultiple concluded litigation actions (securities class actions, registration violations, breach of contract disputes) indicate chronic compliance and relationship management problems
- 05HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE — potential financial distress at franchisor level threatens support and viability
- 06MINORArbitration demands initiated against former franchisees suggests adversarial franchisor-franchisee relationships and potential disputes over obligations
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Los Angeles, California (county where headquarters is located) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 9 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Pending: (1) Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands securities class action (2024); (2) Franchisee group (20 plaintiffs) v. Hurricane AMT marketing fund misuse (2024). Franchisor-initiated: 6 AAA arbitration demands filed April 2025 against former franchisees for payment/inspection obligations. Several concluded cases involving FAT Brands securities litigation and affiliate regulatory matters.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 210 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Training Restaurant, West Palm Beach, Florida area; online via The Eye
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 80 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval; franchisee must use designated/approved real estate broker
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
44 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings franchise?
The total investment to open a Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings franchise ranges from $854K – $2.9M, 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 Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. The median is $1.6M. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system; Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings 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 Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings (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 Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings has 38 total units in the United States, including 38 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Hurricane Grill & Wings / Hurricane Burgers Tacos Wings as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 53 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.