Madurai Kitchen Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Madurai Kitchen is a fast-casual franchise serving South Indian Tamil cuisine. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Madurai Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $222K – $703K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $222K – $703K
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=2
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2
- 9th 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 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 $222K – $703K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSNewly formed franchisor (Madurai Kitchen Franchise, LLC, organized in Illinois January 2025); audited balance sheet only as of February 28, 2025, with no statement of operations. Total assets $50,000 cash; total liabilities $0; total members' equity $50,000.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better).
- 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
- Madurai Kitchen Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- CEO
- Hemalatha Ravishankar
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- IL
- HQ
- 28251 Diehl Road, Warrenville, IL 60555
- Auditor
- Smith, Buzzi & Associates, LLC
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Hemalatha Ravishankar
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 30% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Traveling and Living Expenses while Training | $5K | $10K | |
| Real Property Rent and Security Deposits (3 mos) | $10K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $20K | $250K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Decor | $50K | $100K | |
| Initial Inventory | $5K | $30K | |
| Signage | $2K | $20K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $1K | $5K | |
| Licenses, Permits, and Certifications | $1K | $5K | |
| Insurance (3 Months) | $2K | $4K | |
| Kitchen Equipment | $40K | $120K | |
| TV, Cameras, and other Supplies | $3K | $10K | |
| Computer and POS System | $3K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $28K | $60K | |
| Area Development Fee | $100K | $150K | |
| Initial Investment for Your Initial Franchised Business (Area Development) | $172K | $653K | |
| Total initial investment | $493K | $1.5M |
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
- $222K – $703K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $28K – $60K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · 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 | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $30K |
| 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
Madurai Kitchen did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Madurai Kitchen unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
24%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
Newly formed franchisor (Madurai Kitchen Franchise, LLC, organized in Illinois January 2025); audited balance sheet only as of February 28, 2025, with no statement of operations. Total assets $50,000 cash; total liabilities $0; total members' equity $50,000.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a sample of only 2
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue
- Sample size
- 2
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $873K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 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 average of 7.9%.
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
Only 6% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 averages
How Madurai Kitchen Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- 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
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.9%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 1
- 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)
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
Madurai Kitchen presents HIGH RISK due to Going Concern status, microscopic 2-unit system, undisclosed net income, and unclear unit economics—hallmarks of a financially distressed or pre-revenue franchise with unproven model replication.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Smith, Buzzi & Associates, LLC
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 40 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates financial distress or viability questions at franchisor level
- 02MEDOnly 2 units in system with unknown growth trajectory — extremely limited scale and no proven replication model
- 03MINORHigh investment range ($221.5k–$702.5k) with opaque unit economics — wide variance suggests inconsistent costs or financial performance
- 04MINOR7-year term with 5% royalty on only 2 units suggests early-stage/struggling franchise system
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosed is neutral, but combined with 'Going Concern' status raises credibility concerns about franchisor transparency
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 | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 7 years |
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 5 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 | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Illinois |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | IL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- Online or affiliate outlet in Illinois or designated franchise training center
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Madurai Kitchen · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Madurai Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a Madurai Kitchen franchise ranges from $222K – $703K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Madurai Kitchen franchise owners earn?
Madurai Kitchen 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 Item 19 in the Madurai 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 Madurai Kitchen FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Madurai Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Madurai 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 Madurai Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Madurai Kitchen has 2 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Madurai Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Madurai Kitchen as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Madurai Kitchen, 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.