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
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- 19th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 38
- 35th 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
- Total investment $854K – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year (median $1.6M).
- Verdict B (Above average), verdict score 53/100 (higher is better).
- System 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 $4.5M 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 102% 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
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · 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 gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross 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 run 15% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$177K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- 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 units
- vs category median 16
- Range (low → high)
- $566K→$5.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 1273 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.
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
- 0.0%
- 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 · 8 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)
ⓘ 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
- 06MINORHigh investment range ($539K–$2.9M) combined with 6% royalty creates significant financial burden with unproven return
- 07MINORArbitration 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
46 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. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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), 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.