Kitchen GuardFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Kitchen Guard franchise requires a total initial investment of $198K – $264K, including a $49K franchise fee and an ongoing 8.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $5.3M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $198K – $264K
- 68th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $5.3M
- 55th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 39th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 6
- 17th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Cleaning & Maintenance 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
Each dollar invested generates 23.0x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $198K – $264K including a $49K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $5.3M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 47/100.
- Revenue data based on only 1 reporting unit. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- EverSmith Brands
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Director
- Ken Hutcheson
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 6700 Forum Drive, Suite 150, Orlando, FL 32821
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $22.2M
- vs $35.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Kitchen Guard franchisees operate commercial kitchen fire suppression and safety equipment installation, maintenance, and inspection services. Day-to-day activities include on-site equipment servicing, compliance inspections, customer relationship management, and potentially emergency response coordination. Franchisees manage their protected territory's B2B restaurant and commercial kitchen client base.
- CEO
- Ken Hutcheson
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Feenot refundable | $49K | $49K | |
| Trainingnot refundable | $1K | $4K | |
| Equipment, Inventory, and Supplies, marketing suppliesnot refundable | $53K | $77K | |
| Rent - 3 monthsnot refundable | $4K | $18K | |
| Tenant improvementsnot refundable | $1K | $7K | |
| Vehicle Expensesnot refundable | $3K | $6K | |
| Computer equipment, phones, and Technology Feesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Miscellaneousnot refundable | $6K | $9K | |
| Local Marketingnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Additional Fundsnot refundable | $74K | $84K | |
| Total initial investment | $198K | $264K |
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
$478K
9.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
154%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $198K – $264K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $74K – $84K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $49K – $49K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- Gross Billings · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 8.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $499 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $5.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned business and franchised territories
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 31 · small
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Revenue is 23.0x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Kitchen Guard Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 83%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 28.6%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 30
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 24 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
- 13
- Loan volume
- $4.2M
- Median loan
- $321K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- 7
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Kitchen Guard presents meaningful risk due to undisclosed financial performance data, micro-scale system, franchisor going concern issues, and inability to verify the claimed $686k average net income before committing $200k+.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC
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 47 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 6 units in system with unknown growth trajectory suggests minimal scale and potential stagnation
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representation) disclosed despite $686k average net income claim — cannot independently verify earnings
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($197,950-$264,150) relative to system size creates liquidity risk if franchisor fails
- 05MED8-10% royalty on gross billings (not net) is aggressive and leaves limited margin for underperforming units
- 06MINOR10-year term is lengthy for a micro-franchise system with unproven longevity and no growth data
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 | Geographic |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Florida |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 64 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor location and on-site
- POS system
- Microsoft Office 365, plus a franchise management software program
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Microsoft Office 365, plus a franchise management software program
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
31 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Kitchen Guard · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Kitchen Guard franchise?
The total investment to open a Kitchen Guard franchise ranges from $198K – $264K, with an initial franchise fee of $49K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Kitchen Guard franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Kitchen Guard FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $5.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Kitchen Guard's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Kitchen Guard (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 Kitchen Guard franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Kitchen Guard has 6 total units in the United States, including 5 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Kitchen Guard a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Kitchen Guard as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 47 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.