Kitchen Wise Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Kitchen Wise is a home services franchise offering kitchen remodeling, cabinet refacing, and custom home organization. Franchisees run local operations, managing design consultations, sales, and installation.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Kitchen Wise franchise requires a total initial investment of $119K – $198K, including a $65K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $568K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $119K – $198K
- 43rd pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $568K
- 20th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 15th pct Home Services
- Units
- 7
- 14th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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
- Total investment $119K – $198K including a $65K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $568K/year (median $544K).
- Verdict D (Below average), verdict score 34/100 (higher is better).
- 17 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Kitchen Wise, LLC
- Parent company
- PSB Group, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- AE Capital, LLC
- Predecessor
- Kitchen Wise, LLC (Wisconsin LLC)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Paul Flick
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 126 Garrett Street, Suite J, Charlottesville, VA 22902
- Auditor
- Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $25.4M
- vs $23.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- RooterMan
- The Grout Medic
- House Doctors
- Rubbish Works
- Maid Right
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Paul Flick
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 6
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 30% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $65K | $65K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $23K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $32K | $93K |
| Total initial investment | $119K | $198K |
Source: Kitchen Wise 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
- $119K – $198K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $23K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $65K – $65K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · 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 | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 53% below the home services norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$62K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
33%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $568K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $544K
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
- 3 units
- vs category median 32 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $116K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 355 Home Services 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 $568K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 3.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Home Services average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 3 units — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
System shrank 12.5% over 3 years — 2 closures. Ask existing franchisees about local market conditions.
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 Home Services averages
How Kitchen Wise Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 7
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 329% (!)
- Closures exceed total units. See FDD Item 20
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -12.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -12.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 22
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $1.3M
- Median loan
- $142K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (9 loans) — rate not shown below 10
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
- 1
- 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
Kitchen Wise presents high risk due to rapidly contracting franchise network (-12.5% YoY), extensive litigation involving franchisor and affiliated entities, undisclosed unit economics, and going concern status—suggesting systemic operational/legal challenges and questionable franchisor stability.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $72,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates, PLLC
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 34 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 8 units with -12.5% YoY decline indicates deteriorating franchisee success and retention
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation exposure: Multiple disclosed actions including fraud allegations, breach of contract, and trade secret misappropriation across franchisor and affiliated brands suggests systemic legal/operational issues
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed: Absence of Item 19 financial performance representation prevents verification that $568K average revenue translates to viable unit-level profitability
- 04MINORHigh minimum royalty burden: $150/week ($7,800/year) creates fixed cost floor that may be unsustainable for struggling units in declining system
- 05HIGHGoing concern status: Franchisor flagged as going concern raises questions about long-term viability, support infrastructure, and brand investment
- 06MINORHigh initial investment relative to system size: $119K-$198K franchise fee in 8-unit system with no profitability data creates significant downside risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 10 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 14 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Charlottesville, VA |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | VA |
| Litigation count | 17 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 case reference(s): 2 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Charlottesville, VA (live week); Internet (virtual weeks)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ServiceTitan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceTitan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
9 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Kitchen Wise · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Kitchen Wise franchise?
The total investment to open a Kitchen Wise franchise ranges from $119K – $198K, with an initial franchise fee of $65K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Kitchen Wise franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Kitchen Wise FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $568K. The median is $544K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Kitchen Wise's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Kitchen Wise (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 Wise franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Kitchen Wise has 7 total units in the United States, including 7 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Kitchen Wise a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Kitchen Wise as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 34 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
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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.