Madurai KitchenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
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]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $959K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $222K – $703K
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $959K
- 9th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2
- 6th 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
Started franchising in 2025. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $222K – $703K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $959K/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 35/100.
- Revenue data based on only 2 reporting units. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- MADURAI KITCHEN FRANCHISE LLC
- 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
Franchisees operate quick-service or casual South Indian/Tamil cuisine restaurants under the Madurai Kitchen brand, handling day-to-day kitchen operations, food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and local marketing. With only 2 existing units, there is minimal operational support infrastructure or proven systems documentation.
- CEO
- Hemalatha Ravishankar
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 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.
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
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
23%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $222K – $703K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $28K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · 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 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $959K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Historic Financial Performance Representation
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $873K→$1.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Madurai Kitchen Compares
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
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 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
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 required to be disclosed
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 35 / 100 rating
- 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
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability claims; only gross revenue ($959k avg) provided
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($221.5k–$702.5k) with opaque unit economics — wide variance suggests inconsistent costs or financial performance
- 05MINOR7-year term with 5% royalty on only 2 units suggests early-stage/struggling franchise system
- 06HIGHNo 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 7 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 7 years |
| Territory type | Radius, zip codes, natural, or political boundaries |
| 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 |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Illinois |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and pre-opening
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
7 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?
According to Item 19 of the Madurai Kitchen FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $959K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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 A-grade franchise with a risk score of 35 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Madurai Kitchen, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Full-Service Restaurants category
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.