la MadeleineFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A la Madeleine franchise requires a total initial investment of $448K – $2.5M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.2M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $448K – $2.5M
- 77th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- 55th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 91
- 73rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants 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
Franchised units fell from 62 to 60 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
17% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $448K – $2.5M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $2.2M), with an estimated 17% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 29/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- La Madeleine Franchising Company, Inc.
- Parent company
- La Madeleine, Inc. (LMI)
- Ultimate parent
- LDA Holding Company, Inc.
- Predecessor
- for purposes of this disclosure document is our direct parent company
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- CEO
- Lionel Ladouceur
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 12201 Merit Drive, Suite 900, Dallas, Texas 75251
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $79.5M
- vs $79.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- LDA Management Company
- Gourmet Cuisine
- Bridor
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate full-service French casual dining locations (bakery-café concept) featuring fresh-baked pastries, sandwiches, soups, and light entrées. Day-to-day operations include managing on-premise dining, ordering/inventory control, staffing (typically 15–25 employees per location), and maintaining French-inspired ambiance and food quality standards.
- CEO
- Lionel Ladouceur
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Real Property | — | — | |
| Design, Permitting Fees & Liquor License | $56K | $75K | |
| Building and Leasehold Improvements | $704K | $873K | |
| Security Camera System | $0 | $10K | |
| Signage and Awnings | $22K | $43K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $271K | $407K | |
| Technology Suite | $44K | $108K | |
| Initial Technology Administrative Fee | $3K | $3K | |
| Site Work | $0 | $300K | |
| Start-up Inventory & Supplies | $32K | $52K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $10K | $30K | |
| Insurance | $7K | $25K | |
| Training & Managers' Salary | $19K | $54K | |
| Utility Deposits / Licenses | $3K | $5K | |
| Legal and Accounting | $5K | $30K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $15K | $200K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.2M | $2.3M |
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
$284K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $448K – $2.5M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $200K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 5.9 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $32K – $52K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.2M
- Avg ebitda
- $252K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 16.9%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Historical operating results
- Sample size
- 25 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $783K→$3.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.3M→$3.0M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How la Madeleine Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 91
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.1%
- Company-owned
- 29
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 68%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +3.1%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 1.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 12 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
La Madeleine presents moderate-to-high risk due to declining unit count, lack of financial performance transparency, thin margins in a contracting footprint, and high capital requirements in a challenging casual dining market.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 (Litigation) section not provided in document. Unable to assess litigation details.
Largest disclosed settlement: $40,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Grant Thornton LLP
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 29 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 3.1% YoY (91 units) suggests system contraction and potential market saturation or operational challenges
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representation) disclosed — cannot independently verify the $2.19M avg revenue or $251K net income claims
- 03MINOR11.5% net margin (251K / 2.19M) is thin for food service; 5% royalty on top of COGS (typically 28-32%), labor (28-30%), rent (8-10%) leaves minimal cushion
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($448K–$2.5M) with wide variance suggests inconsistent location costs or build-out standards
- 05MINORMature brand in competitive QSR/casual dining segment facing structural headwinds (rising labor, inflation, changing consumer behavior)
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 (Litigation) section not provided in document. Unable to assess litigation details.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 48 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 252 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- NCR Aloha Point of Sale
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Aloha Point of Sale
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
la Madeleine · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a la Madeleine franchise?
The total investment to open a la Madeleine franchise ranges from $448K – $2.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do la Madeleine franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the la Madeleine FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.2M. The median is $2.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is la Madeleine's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for la Madeleine (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 la Madeleine franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, la Madeleine has 91 total units in the United States, including 62 franchised units and 29 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is la Madeleine a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates la Madeleine as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 29 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.
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.