Lennys Grill & SubsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Lennys Grill & Subs franchise requires a total initial investment of $283K – $577K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $825K[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $283K – $577K
- 55th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $825K
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 62
- 66th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 33.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
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 58 to 56 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $283K – $577K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $825K/year (median $737K).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Lenny’s Holdings LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
- Charley M. Shin
- CEO experience
- 2019 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd., Suite 5300, Columbus, Ohio 43220
- Auditor
- Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.6M
- vs $3.6M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual grill and submarine sandwich restaurants, managing food preparation, customer service, inventory, and staff scheduling. Day-to-day responsibilities include coordinating kitchen operations, maintaining food quality standards, handling POS systems, and driving local marketing within their protected territory.
- CEO
- Charley M. Shin
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 12
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| POS System, Kiosks System and related equipment | $16K | $20K | |
| Training | $3K | $8K | |
| Pre-Opening & Opening Marketing (over 3 months) | $10K | $10K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $7K | |
| Deposits, Utility Deposits & Other Prepaid Expenses | $1K | $7K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $100K | $210K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment, Decor Package & Smallwares | $90K | $225K | |
| Professional Fees (Attorneys, Architects, Engineers) | $10K | $20K | |
| Signage | $6K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds (Three Month Period) | $20K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $283K | $577K |
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
$115K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
25%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $283K – $577K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · 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 | $516 |
| Training fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $825K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $737K
- Item 19 type
- Historical sales of franchised and company-owned outlets
- Sample size
- 46 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $369K→$1.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Lennys Grill & Subs Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 62
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -1.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 9.7%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 3.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $1.8M
- Median loan
- $319K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 33.3%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 66.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 7
- Defaults
- 2
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Lennys presents meaningful caution due to shrinking unit count, absent profitability disclosure, and questionable corporate financial health despite moderate revenue figures.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 1.7% YoY indicates system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation against $283k-$577k investment range
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting financial viability concerns at corporate level
- 04MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio (34-70% of average revenue required upfront) creates significant payback risk
- 05MED6% royalty on gross sales with undisclosed profitability makes unit economics opaque and potentially unfavorable
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 |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 120 hrs
- Training location
- locations designated by franchisor
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Brink POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Brink POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Lennys Grill & Subs · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Lennys Grill & Subs franchise?
The total investment to open a Lennys Grill & Subs franchise ranges from $283K – $577K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Lennys Grill & Subs franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Lennys Grill & Subs FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $825K. The median is $737K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Lennys Grill & Subs's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Lennys Grill & Subs (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 Lennys Grill & Subs franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Lennys Grill & Subs has 62 total units in the United States, including 58 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Lennys Grill & Subs a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Lennys Grill & Subs as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 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.
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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.