Jeremiah’s Italian IceFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise requires a total initial investment of $295K – $744K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $469K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 94 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $295K – $744K
- 58th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $469K
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 163
- 79th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Only 0.0% of 94 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
The system grew 23% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
33% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $295K – $744K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $469K/year (median $436K), with an estimated 33% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 26/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 94 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 84.6% CAGR over 3 years with 163 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- JII Franchise Group, LLC
- Parent company
- Jeremiah’s Italian Ice Holdings LLC
- Predecessor
- and Affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 1011 East Colonial Drive, Suite 201, Orlando, Florida 32803
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $4.0M
- vs $5.5M prior year
Affiliated brands
- and serves as the
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate Italian ice retail shops that sell frozen desserts, typically in high-traffic locations. Day-to-day operations include product preparation, customer service, inventory management, staffing, and marketing within their protected territory. Many locations operate seasonally or adjust staffing based on weather and foot traffic patterns.
- CEO
- Michael Keller
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 11
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 34 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Table A - In-line/Stand-Alone)not refundable | $24K | $30K | |
| Development Services Fee (Table A)not refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Lease/Rent (Table A) | $7K | $41K | |
| Construction (includes permits) (Table A) | $72K | $300K | |
| Equipment (Table A) | $78K | $150K | |
| POS System (Table A) | $8K | $17K | |
| Signage (Table A) | $10K | $25K | |
| Opening Advertising (Table A) | $15K | $15K | |
| Inventory and Start-up Supplies (Table A) | $5K | $18K | |
| Insurance (Table A) | $10K | $12K | |
| Training Expenses (Table A)not refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Business Licenses (Table A) | $250 | $6K | |
| Architect and Professional Fees (Table A)not refundable | $10K | $20K | |
| Additional Funds (3 Months) (Table A)not refundable | $50K | $100K | |
| Security / Utility Deposits (Table A) | $150 | $2K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Table B - Non-Traditional)not refundable | $12K | $15K | |
| Lease/Rent (Table B)not refundable | $0 | $2K | |
| Construction (includes permits) (Table B)not refundable | $5K | $50K | |
| Equipment (Table B) | $60K | $100K | |
| POS System (Table B)not refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.4M | $3.3M |
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
$66K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
11%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
9.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $295K – $744K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg 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
- Payback period
- 3.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $350 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $469K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $436K
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $171K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 33.0%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Historical financial operating results
- Sample size
- 125 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $137K→$1.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-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.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Jeremiah’s Italian Ice Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 163
- Opened
- 33
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 0.6%
- Company-owned
- 19
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 88%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +23.1%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +84.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 13
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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.
- Total loans
- 94
- Loan volume
- $34.3M
- Median loan
- $365K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 29
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Jeremiah’s Italian Ice's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 10 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 94 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-risk seasonal franchise with strong unit growth and solid unit economics, but lack of disclosed financial substantiation and wide cost variance warrant careful validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 26 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representation disclosed — average revenue and net income figures cannot be independently verified
- 02MINORHigh royalty rate (6-10%) combined with seasonal business model may compress margins during off-peak months
- 03MINORRapid unit growth (23.1% YoY) may indicate oversaturation risk or quality control challenges in franchise support
- 04MINORWide investment range ($294K-$743K) suggests significant variability in unit economics and unclear path to profitability
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 |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 26 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 168 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Revel
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
250 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Jeremiah’s Italian Ice · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise?
The total investment to open a Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise ranges from $295K – $744K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Jeremiah’s Italian Ice FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $469K. The median is $436K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Jeremiah’s Italian Ice's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 94 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Jeremiah’s Italian Ice franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice has 163 total units in the United States, including 78 franchised units and 19 company-owned units. 33 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Jeremiah’s Italian Ice a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Jeremiah’s Italian Ice as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 26 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.