Long John Silver'sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Long John Silver's franchise requires a total initial investment of $691K – $4.2M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 27.3% charge-off rate across 45 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $691K – $4.2M
- 90th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 59th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 485
- 88th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 27.3%
- 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
27.3% of SBA loans charged off across 45 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1969. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The system contracted 14% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $691K – $4.2M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 90/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 27.3% across 45 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- LONG JOHN SILVER’S, LLC
- Parent company
- Four Oaks Partners, LLC
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 10350 Ormsby Park Place, Suite 300, Louisville, KY 40223
- Auditor
- Coulter & Justus, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $22.2M
- vs $20.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate seafood quick-service restaurants (primarily fried fish and chips) in traditional standalone locations or non-traditional venues (convenience stores, travel plazas, co-branded locations). Day-to-day operations include managing food preparation, inventory, staffing, customer service, and compliance with brand standards while remitting 5-6% of gross receipts as royalties regardless of profitability.
- CEO
- Nate Fowler
- Headquarters
- KY
- Founded
- 1969
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 34
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $130K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $606K | $4.0M |
| Total initial investment | $691K | $4.2M |
Source: Long John Silver's 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $691K – $4.2M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $130K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Receipts · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Long John Silver's Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 485
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 22
- Non-renewed
- 7
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 228
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 53%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -13.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -29.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 15
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 7
- Transfers (3yr)
- 17
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 20
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 0.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 86.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 45
- Loan volume
- $26.0M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 27.3%
- 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)
- 72.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 28
- Defaults
- 12
Vintage analysis
Long John Silver's charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Long John Silver's's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 20-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 27.3% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Long John Silver's presents high-risk investment opportunity due to accelerating unit decline, lack of financial transparency, and unclear path to profitability in a shrinking system.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $35,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Court under In re ASAP, Inc., Case No. 24-10681-MFW. ASAP’s Chapter 7 filing was submitted as part of the bankruptcy proceedings of ASAP’s parent company, Waitr Holdings Inc. (“Waitr”), in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court under In re Waitr Holdings Inc., Case No. 24-10676-MFW. The current ad
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Coulter & Justus, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 90 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 13.5% YoY (485 units) indicates systemic contraction and loss of franchisee confidence
- 02MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents informed ROI analysis and suggests poor unit economics
- 03MEDHigh initial investment range ($690.5K-$4.16M) with 5-6% royalties on undisclosed revenues creates profitability uncertainty
- 04MED20-year term locks franchisees into declining brand with limited exit options
- 05MINORNon-traditional restaurant format requiring 6% royalty on likely lower volumes suggests margin compression strategy
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 | 20 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 | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Kentucky |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 264 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Xenial Cloud POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Xenial Cloud POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
26 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Long John Silver's · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Long John Silver's franchise?
The total investment to open a Long John Silver's franchise ranges from $691K – $4.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Long John Silver's franchise owners earn?
Long John Silver's does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Long John Silver's's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Long John Silver's has a charge-off rate of 27.3% across 45 loans, meaning 27.3% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Long John Silver's franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Long John Silver's has 485 total units in the United States, including 222 franchised units and 228 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Long John Silver's a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Long John Silver's as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 90 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.