Little Big BurgerFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Little Big Burger franchise requires a total initial investment of $206K – $607K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $763K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $206K – $607K
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $763K
- 5th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 16
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $206K – $607K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $763K/year (median $790K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 52/100.
- Auditor 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
- Legal entity
- LBB Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- LBB Acquisition, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 7621 Little Avenue, Suite 414, Charlotte, NC 28226
- Auditor
- Cherry Bekaert LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18.8M
- vs $20.7M prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2022
- Status as of 2022; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service burger restaurants featuring premium, locally-sourced ingredients and craft burgers. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and staffing in a limited-service format with average unit volumes around $763K annually.
- CEO
- Mike Pruitt
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $13K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $164K | $557K |
| Total initial investment | $206K | $607K |
Source: Little Big Burger 2022 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$88K
11.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $206K – $607K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $13K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $4K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
A 6.5% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $763K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $790K
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-Owned
- Sample size
- 15 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $328K→$1.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Little Big Burger Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 16
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 16
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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 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
Micro-franchise system with undisclosed profitability metrics, corporate litigation history, and parent company going concern issues presents meaningful execution and transparency risks despite reasonable royalty rate.
Litigation (Item 3)
Francis Howard v. Chanticleer Holdings, Inc., Michael D. Pruitt, et al. (S.D. Fla., Case No. 12-81123-CIV). Class action initiated October 12, 2012, alleging securities law violation in connection with public offering of registered securities. Settled March 31, 2014, for $850,000 payment to plaintiffs. Settlement included no admission of guilt or liability by any party.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Cherry Bekaert LLP⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHParent company (Chanticleer Holdings) settled $850K securities litigation in 2012-2014, indicating governance/disclosure concerns at corporate level
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — inability to validate profitability claims against $763K average revenue figure
- 03MINOROnly 16 franchise units with unknown growth trajectory — extremely small system raises sustainability questions
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status suggests financial instability at parent company despite franchise recruitment
- 05MEDHigh investment range ($206K-$607K) paired with undisclosed net income creates opacity on ROI timeline
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Francis Howard v. Chanticleer Holdings, Inc., Michael D. Pruitt, et al. (S.D. Fla., Case No. 12-81123-CIV). Class action initiated October 12, 2012, alleging securities law violation in connection with public offering of registered securities. Settled March 31, 2014, for $850,000 payment to plaintiffs. Settlement included no admission of guilt or liability by any party.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 5 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 96 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor location
- POS system
- TOAST POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: TOAST POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Little Big Burger · FDD (2022) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Little Big Burger franchise?
The total investment to open a Little Big Burger franchise ranges from $206K – $607K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Little Big Burger franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Little Big Burger FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $763K. The median is $790K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Little Big Burger's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Little Big Burger (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 Little Big Burger franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Little Big Burger has 16 total units in the United States, including 16 franchised units and 16 company-owned units.
Is Little Big Burger a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Little Big Burger as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 52 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.