Liberty Bagels Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $804K – $1.3M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Liberty Bagels is a quick-service franchise serving fresh-made bagels, spreads, and breakfast sandwiches. Franchisees run the shops, managing baking, food prep, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Liberty Bagels franchise requires a total initial investment of $804K – $1.3M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Limited operating history: franchising since 2025. A system this young has fewer than three years of Item 20 outlet history and rarely enough SBA loans for a charge-off rate, so its grade rests on less evidence than an established system's. Read its Item 20 tables and talk to its first franchisees before relying on the grade. Other new franchisors
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
- $804K – $1.3M
- 89th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 18th 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 $804K – $1.3M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 43/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Liberty Bagels Franchise LLC
- CEO title
- Co-Founder and CEO
- Alex Vithoulkas
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 260 W 35th Street, New York, New York 10001
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Alex Vithoulkas
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 117% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Construction, Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $230K | $470K | |
| Fixtures, Furniture and Equipmentnot refundable | $131K | $213K | |
| Signage (interior and exterior)not refundable | $37K | $48K | |
| Computer, Software and POS Systemnot refundable | $16K | $22K | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $13K | $21K | |
| Rent Deposits | $34K | $69K | |
| Utility Deposits | $7K | $8K | |
| Insurance Deposits and Premiumsnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Pre-opening Travel Expensenot refundable | $6K | $21K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $17K | $35K | |
| Grand Opening Marketingnot refundable | $5K | $8K | |
| Business Permits and Licensesnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Menu Printing, Stationery and Office Suppliesnot refundable | $10K | $16K | |
| Additional funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $255K | $325K | |
| Total initial investment | $804K | $1.3M |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $804K – $1.3M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $255K – $325K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $13K – $21K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Liberty Bagels is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Liberty Bagels 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- affiliate unit financials
- Sample size
- 4
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.3M→$5.9MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 62 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
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Multi-unit rate
33% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 Liberty Bagels 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
- 4
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 33.3%
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- NY 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
Micro-scale bagel franchise with unverifiable financial claims, no growth data, and insufficient franchisee base to validate business model or provide meaningful support infrastructure.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 includes only an audited opening balance sheet as of March 7, 2025; franchisor (Liberty Bagels Franchise LLC) was formed January 31, 2025 and has no income statement. Exhibit F financial statements are image-only in the source text; no figures or CPA firm name extractable.
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 43 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 4 units in entire system indicates extremely small/nascent franchise with no proven scalability or support infrastructure
- 02MINORUnknown unit growth trajectory is critical gap — unclear if system is expanding, stagnant, or contracting
- 03MINORHigh investment range ($804K-$1.3M) relative to system size creates illiquidity risk and limits exit options
- 04MEDTiny franchisee base (4 units) means minimal peer support network, limited operational best practices sharing, and insufficient data for validation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| 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 |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 14 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 13 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | NY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 56 hrs
- Training location
- New York, NY (affiliate-owned shops or other facility designated by franchisor)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects with franchisor approval; franchisor assigns Territory
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 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 Liberty Bagels franchise?
The total investment to open a Liberty Bagels franchise ranges from $804K – $1.3M, 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 Liberty Bagels franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Liberty Bagels FDD discloses outlet figures from $1.3M to $5.9M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Liberty Bagels?
Liberty Bagels is franchised by Liberty Bagels Franchise LLC. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Liberty Bagels 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 Liberty Bagels FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Liberty Bagels's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Liberty Bagels (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 Liberty Bagels franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Liberty Bagels has 4 total units in the United States.
Is Liberty Bagels a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Liberty Bagels as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 43 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 Liberty Bagels, 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.