Kitchen Refresh Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $21K – $134K
- Disclosed sales
- $986K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Kitchen Refresh is a home services franchise offering fast, affordable kitchen refreshes through cabinet refacing and updates. Franchisees run local operations, managing in-home consultations, sales, and installation.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Kitchen Refresh franchise requires a total initial investment of $21K – $134K, including a $6K – $29K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $986K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), 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
- $21K – $134K
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $986K
- 19th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- Not extracted
- Units
- 8
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-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 $21K – $134K including a $6K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $986K/year (median $689K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 59/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +5 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Kitchen Refresh Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Kitchen Refresh Holdings, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- President
- Chris Reinicke
- Incorporated in
- North Dakota
- HQ
- 4100 Hagen Avenue, Suite F, Bismarck, North Dakota 58504
- Auditor
- independent auditor (unqualified/clean opinion; name in Exhibit C report)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.3M
- vs $749K prior year
Affiliated brands
- Kitchen Refresh
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Chris Reinicke
- Headquarters
- North Dakota
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 84% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $6K | $6K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $7K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $8K | $103K |
| Total initial investment | $21K | $134K |
Source: Kitchen Refresh 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
- $21K – $134K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $7K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $6K – $29K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- No continuing percentage royalty fee is disclosed in Item…
- Ad fund
- No System-wide Brand Fund established yet (Item 6 lists B…
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $10 |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the quick-service restaurants norm.
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 Kitchen Refresh 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 royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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
$94K
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
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 Kitchen Refresh 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 royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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 royalty rate, ad fund rate, 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
- Avg gross sales
- $986K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $689K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 7 outlets
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $29K→$1.9MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 35 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 12.7x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
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 $986K/year in gross sales. Median is $689K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 12.7x.
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +100.0% over 3 years (5 opened, 0 closed).
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 Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Kitchen Refresh Compares
Category median of published Quick-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
- 8
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +100.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 5 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
5
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- PH 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 7 entries carry no state. 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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 Refresh presents elevated risk due to recent regulatory violations, missing financial disclosures, opaque royalty terms, and an immature franchise system with only 8 units—making it difficult to validate earnings claims or assess long-term viability.
Why this reads harsher than the B grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
One Item 3 matter: In the Matter of Kitchen Refresh Franchising, LLC (Minnesota Dept. of Commerce, Case No. 71377/DPK). On March 16, 2022 franchisor entered a Consent Order settling claims it sold franchises while not effectively registered in Minnesota; agreed to comply with the Minnesota Franchise Act, offer rescission to four Minnesota franchisees, and pay a $4,000 civil penalty. No other litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · independent auditor (unqualified/clean opinion; name in Exhibit C report)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 59 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORRegulatory violation: Minnesota Department of Commerce Consent Order (March 2022) for selling franchises without effective registration and offering rescissions
- 02MEDMissing critical financial disclosure: Net income not disclosed despite $985,899 average revenue claim—prevents accurate ROI calculation
- 03MINORUnknown royalty structure: Lack of transparency on ongoing fees creates unpredictable cost burden and suggests potential compliance issues
- 04MINORExtremely rapid unit growth (166.7% YoY): Only 8 units total makes growth percentage unstable and system maturity questionable
- 05MINORZero franchise fee with $0 barrier to entry: Highly unusual model that may indicate difficulty attracting franchisees or reliance on royalties for franchisor revenue
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
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 population | 350,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Bismarck, North Dakota (franchisor's headquarters) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Dakota |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One Item 3 matter: In the Matter of Kitchen Refresh Franchising, LLC (Minnesota Dept. of Commerce, Case No. 71377/DPK). On March 16, 2022 franchisor entered a Consent Order settling claims it sold franchises while not effectively registered in Minnesota; agreed to comply with the Minnesota Franchise Act, offer rescission to four Minnesota franchisees, and pay a $4,000 civil penalty. No other litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 49 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 107 hrs
- Training location
- Virtually and/or Bismarck/Fargo, North Dakota
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- QuickBooks Online Plus (with specified laptop)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: QuickBooks Online Plus (with specified laptop)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 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 Kitchen Refresh franchise?
The total investment to open a Kitchen Refresh franchise ranges from $21K – $134K, with an initial franchise fee of $6K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Kitchen Refresh franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Kitchen Refresh FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $986K. The median is $689K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Kitchen Refresh?
Kitchen Refresh is franchised by Kitchen Refresh Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Kitchen Refresh Holdings, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Kitchen Refresh 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 Refresh FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Kitchen Refresh's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Kitchen Refresh (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 Refresh franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Kitchen Refresh has 8 total units in the United States, including 8 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Kitchen Refresh a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Kitchen Refresh as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 59 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?
If you represent Kitchen Refresh, 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.