Jersey Mike'sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Jersey Mike's franchise requires a total initial investment of $182K – $1.4M, including a $19K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 4.4% charge-off rate across 667 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $182K – $1.4M
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 43rd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 79th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2,989
- 97th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 4.4%
- 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
Franchising since 1987. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Large franchise systems benefit from brand recognition, supply chain leverage, and proven operations.
Bottom line
- Total investment $182K – $1.4M including a $19K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.3M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 4.4% across 667 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 25.2% CAGR over 3 years with 2989 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- A Sub Above, LLC
- Parent company
- Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Jersey Mike's Franchise Systems, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Peter Cancro
- CEO experience
- 18 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 2251 Landmark Place, Manasquan, New Jersey 08736
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $246.7M
- vs $279.9M prior year
Overview
About
Jersey Mike's franchisees operate quick-service sandwich shops selling fresh, customizable submarine sandwiches and related items. Day-to-day operations include food prep, customer service, inventory management, staffing, and maintaining brand standards across a high-volume, counter-service model.
- CEO
- Peter Cancro
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 1956
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 51
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $19K | $19K | |
| Real Estate and Construction Fee | $5K | $5K | |
| Rent/Lease CAM/Taxes/Lease and Utility Security Deposits | $0 | $72K | |
| Architectural Fees | $1K | $33K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $75K | $722K | |
| Equipment/Furniture/Small Wares | $32K | $208K | |
| Initial Inventory | $2K | $35K | |
| Insurance | $1K | $25K | |
| Training | $1K | $68K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $13K | $13K | |
| Exterior Signage | $1K | $40K | |
| Interior Branding / Graphics | $2K | $11K | |
| Uniforms, Office Equipment and Supplies, TVs/Stereo System/Security System | $900 | $66K | |
| POS System | $8K | $28K | |
| POS System Connection to Private Network | $5K | $5K | |
| POS License Fee | $2K | $4K | |
| Professional fees (lawyer, accountant, etc.) | $250 | $21K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $500 | $25K | |
| Additional Funds for 3 months | $15K | $15K | |
| Total initial investment | $182K | $1.4M |
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
$141K
10.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $182K – $1.4M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $15K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $19K – $19K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $395 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 11.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.3M
- Item 19 type
- Traditional Franchised Restaurants
- Sample size
- 2255 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $473K→$4.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Jersey Mike's Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2,989
- Opened
- 318
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Turnover rate
- 0.2%
- Company-owned
- 34
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 20.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +25.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 79
- Transfer rate
- 2.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 99.7%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 0.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 51 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
- 667
- Loan volume
- $223.3M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 4.4%
- 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)
- 97.9%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 1.1%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 153
- Defaults
- 18
Vintage analysis
Jersey Mike's 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 Jersey Mike's'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
- 15-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Jersey Mike's shows strong unit growth (11.6% YoY) and reasonable royalty rates, but lacks transparency on profitability, has no territorial protection, and carries prior litigation risk around franchise agreement terms.
Litigation (Item 3)
State of Washington v. Jersey Mike's Franchise Systems, Inc. and Washington franchisees (Case No. 18-225822-7) alleging violation of Washington Consumer Protection Act based on 'no-poach' provision in legacy franchise agreements. Settled via Assurance of Discontinuance on August 23, 2019. JMFS agreed to pay $150,000 and refrain from including or enforcing 'no-poach' provision in any franchise agreements.
Largest disclosed settlement: $150,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 5 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — inability to validate the $1.34M average revenue claim or profitability
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization between franchise units
- 03HIGHWashington State litigation regarding 'no-poach' clauses signals potential employment law compliance issues across the system
- 04MINORWide investment range ($181K–$1.41M) suggests inconsistent unit economics and unclear actual costs
- 05MINOR6.5% royalty on gross receipts (not net) means franchisees pay regardless of 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 15 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Monmouth County, New Jersey |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
State of Washington v. Jersey Mike's Franchise Systems, Inc. and Washington franchisees (Case No. 18-225822-7) alleging violation of Washington Consumer Protection Act based on 'no-poach' provision in legacy franchise agreements. Settled via Assurance of Discontinuance on August 23, 2019. JMFS agreed to pay $150,000 and refrain from including or enforcing 'no-poach' provision in any franchise agreements.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 29 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 407 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- computer-based POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: computer-based POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3,085 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Jersey Mike's · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Jersey Mike's franchise?
The total investment to open a Jersey Mike's franchise ranges from $182K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $19K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Jersey Mike's franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Jersey Mike's FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Jersey Mike's's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Jersey Mike's has a charge-off rate of 4.4% across 667 loans, meaning 4.4% 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 Jersey Mike's franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Jersey Mike's has 2,989 total units in the United States, including 2,361 franchised units and 34 company-owned units. 318 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Jersey Mike's a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Jersey Mike's as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 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.