Mason’s Famous Lobster RollsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls franchise requires a total initial investment of $241K – $629K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $848K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $241K – $629K
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $848K
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 27
- 31st 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 system grew 25% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
25% cash-on-cash return. Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $241K – $629K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $848K/year (median $821K), with an estimated 25% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 39/100.
- System growing at 127.3% CAGR over 3 years with 27 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Mason’s Lobster Franchising LLC
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 77 Franklin Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401
- Auditor
- ClarkHirth
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.1M
- vs $1.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- is the owner of the Licensed Marks
- maintains a pr
- owns and operates one fast casual restaurant that is similar to the type being franchised
- DC Lobster Dupont
- has not in the past and does not now offer franchises in any lines of business
- DC Lobster Co
- DMC Foods
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual fast-casual seafood restaurants specializing in lobster rolls and regional New England fare. Day-to-day operations include food sourcing, labor management, customer service, and compliance with franchisor standards for menu and branding. Most locations are counter-service or quick-casual formats with limited table service.
- CEO
- Daniel Beck
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 12
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $201K | $574K |
| Total initial investment | $241K | $629K |
Source: Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls 2024 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
$102K
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
- $241K – $629K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $9K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $12K |
| 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
- $848K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $821K
- Avg net income
- $108K
- Cash-on-cash
- 24.7%
- Based on Net Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual Sales
- Sample size
- 20 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $417K→$1.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- limited
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 27
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +127.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
Moderate-to-caution risk profile: aggressive growth, undisclosed financial performance data, and high investment relative to earnings warrant deep validation before signing.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $35,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · ClarkHirth
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 39 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify the $847,577 average revenue or $107,512 net income claims
- 02MEDHigh initial investment range ($241K-$629K) relative to disclosed net income ($107K) creates 2.3-5.9 year payback horizon with execution risk
- 03MINORRapid unit growth (25% YoY) may indicate aggressive franchising outpacing operational support maturity
- 04MINOR5% royalty on gross sales with no Item 19 makes it difficult to assess true unit profitability and franchisor sustainability
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 | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 17 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 23 hrs
- Training location
- Annapolis, Maryland
- Site selection
- joint
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
27 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls franchise?
The total investment to open a Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls franchise ranges from $241K – $629K, 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 Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $848K. The median is $821K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls (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 Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls has 27 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 2 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 39 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.