Keke’s Breakfast Café Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $623K – $1.9M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.1M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Keke's Breakfast Cafe is a breakfast and brunch restaurant franchise serving made-to-order eggs, pancakes, and sandwiches. Franchisees run the cafes, managing food prep, staff, and daytime table service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Keke’s Breakfast Café franchise requires a total initial investment of $623K – $1.9M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.1M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $623K – $1.9M
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- Net sales10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 23rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 69
- 28th 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 median · 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 $623K – $1.9M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.1M/year, with an estimated 26% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA before Royalties, Advertising, Occupancy Cost and Management Fees).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 79/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +6 franchised outlets in the latest year (7 opened, 1 closed); 3 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 22.2% CAGR over 3 years with 69 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Keke's Franchise Organization, LLC
- Parent company
- Keke's, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Denny's Corporation
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- K2 Restaurants, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- David Schmidt
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 203 East Main Street, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29319
- Auditor
- KPMG LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $200.4M
- vs $206.1M prior year
Affiliated brands
- DFO
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 8
1 other brand on this site name Denny's Corporation as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- David Schmidt
- Headquarters
- SC
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 85% 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 | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $578K | $1.8M |
| Total initial investment | $623K | $1.9M |
Source: Keke’s Breakfast Café 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
- $623K – $1.9M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $13K – $26K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 30% above the full-service restaurants norm.
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 Keke’s Breakfast Café 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
$1.3M
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
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $601K as EBITDA before Royalties, Advertising, Occupancy Cost and Management Fees. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for Keke’s Breakfast Café.
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 Keke’s Breakfast Café 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 as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Avg ebitda before royalties, advertising, occupancy cost and management fees
- $601K
- Reported as EBITDA before Royalties, Advertising, Occupancy Cost and Management Fees in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 26.3%
- Based on EBITDA before Royalties, Advertising, Occupancy Cost and Management Fees / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- EBITDA and Net Sales by performance tier
- Sample size
- 25 outlets
- vs category median 18
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
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 $2.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.5% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 8/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 22.2% CAGR over 3 years across 69 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 medians
How Keke’s Breakfast Café Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 69
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 1.4%
- Company-owned
- 14
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 80%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +22.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +22.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Signed, not yet open
- 3
- 0.04 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 12
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 50.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
18 current owners across 3 states.
- FL 16
- CA 1
- CO 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 6 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 6
- Loan volume
- $12.1M
- Median loan
- $1.6M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (6)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 6 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (6)
- 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Three cases disclosed: (1) 50 East Thousand Oaks LLC v Denny's Inc. (CA, 2014) - breach of contract/misrepresentation, settled for $115,000 in 2016; (2) Rogers Family Foods v DFO LLC (MN, 2019) - royalty dispute, dismissed with prejudice 2021; (3) RWDT Foods v DFO LLC and Denny's Inc. (SC, 2022) - breach of contract and multiple claims, pending as of disclosure. No lawsuits filed by franchisor in 2024.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KPMG LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Revenue components (FY2024, in thousands): Franchise and license fees $121,480; Advertising revenue $78,192; Equipment sales $675; Rent $5. Figures are for DFO, LLC (Denny's franchising entity / guarantor), not the Keke's franchisor entity itself.
ⓘ 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 79 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHThree pending/settled litigation cases involving parent company affiliates (DFO, LLC and Denny's, Inc.) suggest structural or operational disputes within the franchise system
- 02MEDModest unit growth of 12.2% YoY on only 69 total units indicates a small, still-scaling system with limited brand recognition and survival track record
- 03HIGHPending litigation as of 2023 (RWDT FOODS case) remains unresolved, creating uncertainty around franchisor stability and potential financial liability to franchisees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| 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 | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three cases disclosed: (1) 50 East Thousand Oaks LLC v Denny's Inc. (CA, 2014) - breach of contract/misrepresentation, settled for $115,000 in 2016; (2) Rogers Family Foods v DFO LLC (MN, 2019) - royalty dispute, dismissed with prejudice 2021; (3) RWDT Foods v DFO LLC and Denny's Inc. (SC, 2022) - breach of contract and multiple claims, pending as of disclosure. No lawsuits filed by franchisor in 2024.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 96 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate headquarters and/or company-owned Restaurant in Florida, or other designated location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- PAR POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: PAR POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Keke’s Breakfast Café franchise?
The total investment to open a Keke’s Breakfast Café franchise ranges from $623K – $1.9M, 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 Keke’s Breakfast Café franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Keke’s Breakfast Café FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.1M. Important context: 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.
Who owns Keke’s Breakfast Café?
Keke’s Breakfast Café is franchised by Keke's Franchise Organization, LLC. Its parent company is Keke's, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Denny's Corporation. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Keke’s Breakfast Café 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 Keke’s Breakfast Café FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Keke’s Breakfast Café's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Keke’s Breakfast 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 Keke’s Breakfast Café franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Keke’s Breakfast Café has 69 total units in the United States, including 55 franchised units and 14 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Keke’s Breakfast Café a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Keke’s Breakfast Café as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 79 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.