McAlister’s DeliFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A McAlister’s Deli franchise requires a total initial investment of $910K – $2.6M, including a $36K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 7.7% charge-off rate across 43 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $910K – $2.6M
- 42nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 20th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 572
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 7.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
Franchising since 1991. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $910K – $2.6M including a $36K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.8M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 23/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 7.7% across 43 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- McAlister’s Franchisor SPV LLC
- Parent company
- GoTo Foods LLC
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 5620 Glenridge Drive NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30342
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $309K
- vs $321K prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual sandwich and salad delis, managing food prep, customer service, inventory, and staffing in high-volume takeout/dine-in settings. Day-to-day involves sourcing fresh ingredients, executing branded recipes, managing 15-30+ employees, handling POS systems, and meeting corporate marketing/compliance standards across typically 2,000-3,500 sq ft locations.
- CEO
- Omer Gajial
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1991
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 31
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $36K | $36K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $53K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $850K | $2.5M |
| Total initial investment | $910K | $2.6M |
Source: McAlister’s Deli 2026 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
$206K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $910K – $2.6M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $53K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $36K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Net Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.8M
- Item 19 type
- Traditional Franchises
- Sample size
- 477 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $636K→$4.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.1M→$2.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How McAlister’s Deli Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 572
- Opened
- 25
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Turnover rate
- 1.6%
- Company-owned
- 39
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +1.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +5.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 9
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 7
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 16
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 2
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 1.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 31 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 43
- Loan volume
- $40.2M
- Median loan
- $884K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 7.7%
- 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)
- 92.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 27
- Defaults
- 2
Vintage analysis
McAlister’s Deli charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
McAlister's presents moderate-to-caution risk: stagnant growth, missing profitability disclosure, and elevated fees in a declining QSR environment warrant deep franchisee validation before committing $1M+ capital.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 case reference(s): 0 pending, 9 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $650,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 23 / 100 rating
- 01MEDMinimal unit growth (1.7% YoY) suggests mature/stagnant system with limited expansion momentum
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (Net Income) disclosure prevents ROI validation against $910K-$2.5M investment range
- 03MINORHigh franchise fee ($35,500) plus 5% royalty creates 6%+ blended fee burden with no profitability benchmark
- 04HIGHParent company (Sardar Investments/Arby's ecosystem) litigation history includes no-poaching and data breach settlements indicating compliance/operational risks
- 05MINOR572-unit system is mid-sized and vulnerable; scale insufficient to absorb economic downturns like larger competitors
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 | 20 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| 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 groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 4 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 case reference(s): 0 pending, 9 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 250 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
341 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
McAlister’s Deli · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a McAlister’s Deli franchise?
The total investment to open a McAlister’s Deli franchise ranges from $910K – $2.6M, with an initial franchise fee of $36K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do McAlister’s Deli franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the McAlister’s Deli FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is McAlister’s Deli's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, McAlister’s Deli has a charge-off rate of 7.7% across 43 loans, meaning 7.7% 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 McAlister’s Deli franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, McAlister’s Deli has 572 total units in the United States, including 506 franchised units and 39 company-owned units. 25 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is McAlister’s Deli a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates McAlister’s Deli as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 23 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.