Lean Kitchen Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Lean Kitchen is a healthy meal-prep franchise selling fresh, chef-prepared heat-and-eat meals for pickup and delivery. Franchisees run the kitchens, managing meal production, packaging, and grab-and-go retail.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Lean Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $151K – $442K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $556K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $151K – $442K
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $556K
- Outlet subset1st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 32
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants 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 $151K – $442K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $556K/year (median $497K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system). Note: this is gross profit, not take-home income.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 34/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGAuditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Lean Kitchen Enterprises, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Austin Evans
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MO
- HQ
- 1331 South Belt Highway, St. Joseph, MO 64507
- Auditor
- Omar Alnuaimi, CPA
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $697K
- vs $928K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2024
- Status as of 2024; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Austin Evans
- Headquarters
- MO
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 9
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 75% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Rent (one month)not refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Lease Security Deposit | $3K | $5K | |
| Kitchen Equipmentnot refundable | $45K | $100K | |
| Buildout and Fixturesnot refundable | $25K | $130K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $5K | $12K | |
| Computer Systemsnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Delivery Vehiclenot refundable | $0 | $70K | |
| Insurance (3 months)not refundable | $300 | $2K | |
| Utilities | $250 | $750 | |
| Inventorynot refundable | $10K | $20K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $150 | $1K | |
| Professional Fees (architect, lawyer, accountant, etc.)not refundable | $3K | $13K | |
| Market Introduction Programnot refundable | $500 | $5K | |
| Pre-opening employee compensationnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Travel, lodging and meals for initial trainingnot refundable | $4K | $8K | |
| Additional funds (for first 3 months)not refundable | $10K | $25K | |
| Additional initial franchise fees (MUDA)not refundable | $20K | $80K | |
| Business planning and miscellaneous expenses (MUDA)not refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $172K | $527K |
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
- $151K – $442K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $310 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 69% below the full-service restaurants norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 Lean Kitchen 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 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
$314K
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 Lean Kitchen 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 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 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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $556K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $497K
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
- 8 outlets
- vs category median 18 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $314K→$1.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 802 Full-Service Restaurants 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 $556K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Full-Service Restaurants average of 7.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 20.0% CAGR over 3 years across 32 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Lean Kitchen Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 32
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 20.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -6.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +20.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 6
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 18.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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
- 15
- Loan volume
- $3.4M
- Median loan
- $224K
- 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
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Lean Kitchen charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Lean Kitchen franchisees
Showing 3 of 6 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Lean Kitchen's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 6 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 8 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
The auditor flagged going-concern doubt (Item 21) — the single biggest risk here.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Early-stage franchise with opaque profitability data, financial uncertainty flagged by going concern status, and an underdeveloped unit base raises questions about franchisor viability and franchisee ROI sustainability.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Omar Alnuaimi, CPA⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 34 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Net Income) disclosed — cannot validate ROI or profitability claims
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests franchisor may have undisclosed financial or operational vulnerabilities
- 03MINORWide investment range ($151K-$441K) indicates inconsistent unit economics or unclear startup costs
- 04MEDOnly 32 units system-wide — small franchise with limited scale and support infrastructure
- 05MINOR6% royalty on 'Adjusted Gross Sales' (non-standard metric) — potential for disputes over what qualifies
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| 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 | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | St. Joseph, Missouri |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MO |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 8 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 44 hrs
- Training location
- St. Joseph, MO and Parkville, MO
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects, franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Revel (POS) + Paytronix (Loyalty) + Bottle (online ordering)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel (POS) + Paytronix (Loyalty) + Bottle (online ordering)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Lean Kitchen · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Lean Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a Lean Kitchen franchise ranges from $151K – $442K, 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 Lean Kitchen franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Lean Kitchen FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $556K. The median is $497K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Lean Kitchen 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 Lean Kitchen FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Lean Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Lean Kitchen (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 Lean Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Lean Kitchen has 32 total units in the United States, including 30 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Lean Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Lean Kitchen as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 34 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?
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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.