Kitchen Guard Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Kitchen Guard is a commercial kitchen services franchise providing exhaust hood cleaning and fire-safety compliance for restaurants. Franchisees run local operations, managing technicians and recurring accounts.
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]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $198K – $264K
- 71st pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only1 outlet
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- 42nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 6
- 16th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance avg · 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 $198K – $264K including a $49K franchise fee, 8.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSNo franchised average is disclosed. The FDD states (printed p.50) that 'none of our franchised locations have completed a full fiscal year of operation', and the only franchised data is average MONTHLY gross billings by month of operation — $13,321 by month seven, across three territories. The figure previously shown was the affiliate's total 2024 gross billings for a Primary Service Area the FDD describes as 'three times as large as the territory offered in this disclosure document'.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 54/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports affiliate historical plus franchisee ramp rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Kitchen Guard Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Clintar, Inc. d/b/a EverSmith Brands
- Ultimate parent
- EverSmith Brands Holding Company (f/k/a Clintar Holding Company)
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Director
- Ken Hutcheson
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 6700 Forum Drive, Suite 150, Orlando, FL 32821
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.1M
- vs $22.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ken Hutcheson
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 26% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $198K – $264K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $74K – $84K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $49K – $49K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 8.0%
- tiered · 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 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $53K – $77K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Kitchen Guard did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Kitchen Guard unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
22%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
No franchised average is disclosed. The FDD states (printed p.50) that 'none of our franchised locations have completed a full fiscal year of operation', and the only franchised data is average MONTHLY gross billings by month of operation — $13,321 by month seven, across three territories. The figure previously shown was the affiliate's total 2024 gross billings for a Primary Service Area the FDD describes as 'three times as large as the territory offered in this disclosure document'.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- affiliate historical plus franchisee ramp
- Sample size
- 1 outlet
- vs category median 32 · small
- Reported figure
- $5.3M
- A single outlet — not a range
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% (near the Cleaning & Maintenance average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports affiliate historical plus franchisee ramp rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Multi-unit rate
29% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Kitchen Guard Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
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
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 30
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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
- no resolved loans yet — rate needs a terminal outcome
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.
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
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 · BDO USA, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ 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: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 verdict
- 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% 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 | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | 1,000-2,000 retail food service locations |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Orlando, Florida |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 64 hrs
- Training location
- Online (modules 1-5), then in-person at Escondido, CA or other locations chosen by Franchisor
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor approval required
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- 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
18 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?
Kitchen Guard does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Kitchen Guard 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 Kitchen Guard FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 54 out of 100 (higher is better), 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Kitchen Guard, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.