Just Love Coffee & CaféFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Just Love Coffee & Café franchise requires a total initial investment of $495K – $760K, including a $39K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $521K[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $495K – $760K
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $521K
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 53
- 63rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
The system grew 19% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $495K – $760K including a $39K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $521K/year (median $488K).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 54/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- JUST LOVE FRANCHISE GROUP, LLC
- Parent company
- Just Love Enterprises, LLC
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 761 Old Hickory Blvd, Suite 300, Brentwood, Tennessee 37027
- Auditor
- GBQ Partners LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.2M
- vs $1.9M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate coffee café locations serving specialty beverages, pastries, and light food items to walk-in and regular customers. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing baristas and café staff, inventory/ordering, customer service, point-of-sale operations, and maintaining brand standards across a protected territory.
- CEO
- Alan Thompson
- Headquarters
- TN
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 17
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $39K | $39K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $436K | $691K |
| Total initial investment | $495K | $760K |
Source: Just Love Coffee & Café 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$73K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
11%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $495K – $760K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $39K – $39K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · 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 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $39K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $521K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $488K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 42 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $227K→$1.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Just Love Coffee & Café Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 53
- Opened
- 12
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Turnover rate
- 7.5%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +18.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +75.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 20 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Moderate-risk coffee café franchise with healthy growth but critical lack of net income transparency and high capital requirement relative to revenue disclosure.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · GBQ Partners LLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to assess true profitability despite $521k average revenue
- 02MINORHigh initial investment ($494.5k-$759.5k) with no transparent profit data creates ROI uncertainty
- 03MINORModest unit growth (18.6% YoY) is healthy but small system (53 units) lacks scale and resilience
- 04MED6% royalty + undisclosed operating costs may compress margins significantly on $521k average revenue
- 05MINORNo financial performance representation limits ability to validate franchisee earnings claims
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 | 3 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Tennessee |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 27 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 95 hrs
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
32 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Just Love Coffee & Café · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Just Love Coffee & Café franchise?
The total investment to open a Just Love Coffee & Café franchise ranges from $495K – $760K, with an initial franchise fee of $39K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Just Love Coffee & Café franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Just Love Coffee & Café FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $521K. The median is $488K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Just Love Coffee & Café's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Just Love Coffee & Café (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 Just Love Coffee & Café franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Just Love Coffee & Café has 53 total units in the United States, including 29 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 12 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Just Love Coffee & Café a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Just Love Coffee & Café as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 54 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.