Mellow Mushroom Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.7M – $2.9M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.7M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 15.0%
- on 142 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Mellow Mushroom is a casual-dining franchise known for its stone-baked specialty pizzas, craft beer, and quirky, artsy restaurants. Franchisees run full-service restaurants managing kitchen, bar, and service staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Mellow Mushroom franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.7M – $2.9M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.7M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 15.0% charge-off rate across 142 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2026 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - the current year's filing
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.7M – $2.9M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 161
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 15.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · 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 $1.7M – $2.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.7M/year (median $2.6M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 15.0% across 142 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -5 franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 5 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Home-Grown Industries of Georgia, Inc. d/b/a Mellow Mushroom
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Richard A. Brasch
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 150 Great Southwest Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30336
- Auditor
- Bennett Thrasher LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $63.6M
- vs $62.7M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Richard A. Brasch
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 1975
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 15
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 240% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $60K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $1.6M | $2.8M |
| Total initial investment | $1.7M | $2.9M |
Source: Mellow Mushroom 2026 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
- $1.7M – $2.9M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $60K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $700 |
| Training fee | $80K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $55K – $78K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 67% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Mellow Mushroom until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$2.4M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Mellow Mushroom unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.6M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 154 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $991K→$6.1MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 78 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.7M→$3.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.7M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (-1.3% 3-year CAGR) with 161 units.
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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Mellow Mushroom Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 161
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Turnover rate
- 3.1%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -1.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -1.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.01 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 50.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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
- Indiana
- Michigan
- South Dakota
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
134 current owners across 13 states.
- GA 37
- FL 22
- NC 16
- AL 12
- SC 11
- VA 10
- TN 9
- KY 4
- TX 4
- MO 3
- OH 3
- AZ 2
- +1 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 142
- Loan volume
- $143.5M
- Median loan
- $756K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 15.0%
- on 142 loans · 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)
- 85.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 40
- Defaults
- 18
- Typical loan rate
- 5.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 13.2%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 7,208
- 5.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 18%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 29% went to startups / new businesses, 71% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in full-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 13.2% vs 9.7% for independents — franchising is associated with 36% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Mellow Mushroom charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Mellow Mushroom franchisees
Showing 3 of 40 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Mellow Mushroom from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 6.8%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 75%
- Avg interest rate
- 5.84%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $544K
- Lender concentration
- 18.3%
- Job velocity
- 5.0 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.4%
- NAICS 722511
- Jobs supported
- 7,208
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 18% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coastal States Bank | 26 | $27.8M | 26.9% |
| 2 | Comerica Bank | 24 | $16.1M | 8.3% |
| 3 | Truist Bank | 13 | $10.6M | 9.1% |
| 4 | SouthState Bank, National Association | 9 | $10.8M | 50.0% |
| 5 | TD Bank, National Association | 8 | $11.8M | 0.0% |
| 6 | Paragon Bank | 7 | $8.2M | 16.7% |
| 7 | Ameris Bank | 5 | $3.0M | 0.0% |
| 8 | Synovus Bank | 4 | $1.4M | 0.0% |
| 9 | The Huntington National Bank | 4 | $5.2M | 0.0% |
| 10 | United Community Bank | 3 | $5.0M | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| GAGeorgia | 43 | 2 | 6.1% |
| FLFlorida | 21 | 3 | 17.6% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 14 | 4 | 28.6% |
| TXTexas | 14 | 1 | 9.1% |
| SCSouth Carolina | 9 | 1 | 11.1% |
| KYKentucky | 8 | 4 | 57.1% |
| TNTennessee | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| VAVirginia | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ALAlabama | 5 | 1 | 25.0% |
| ARArkansas | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans here charge off near the 16.0% national average.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Mellow Mushroom presents meaningful caution due to declining unit count, missing profitability data, and high capital requirements relative to system contraction.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bennett Thrasher LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Audited consolidated statements of operations for Home-Grown Industries of Georgia, Inc. and Subsidiaries (d/b/a Mellow Mushroom), FY ended September 30, 2025 and 2024. FY2025 total revenues $63,551,144; net loss $(1,119,324); total stockholders' deficit $(18,527,340).
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 3.1% YoY (161 units) indicating system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee struggles
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — impossible to assess actual profitability despite $2.68M average revenue; royalty burden at 5% unclear without expense breakdown
- 03MINOR15-year term locks franchisee into long commitment with shrinking support network and declining peer learning community
- 04MEDNo litigation disclosed but declining units may mask underlying franchisee disputes, quality issues, or brand weakness
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | GA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 115 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 152 hrs
- Training location
- Atlanta, Georgia and approved Training Restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor acceptance
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha Table Service Point-of-Sale
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha Table Service Point-of-Sale
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
134 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Mellow Mushroom franchise?
The total investment to open a Mellow Mushroom franchise ranges from $1.7M – $2.9M, 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 Mellow Mushroom franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Mellow Mushroom FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.7M. The median is $2.6M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Mellow Mushroom?
Mellow Mushroom is franchised by Home-Grown Industries of Georgia, Inc. d/b/a Mellow Mushroom. The FDD names no parent company. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Mellow Mushroom 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 Mellow Mushroom FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Mellow Mushroom's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Mellow Mushroom has a charge-off rate of 15.0% across 142 loans, meaning 15.0% 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 Mellow Mushroom franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Mellow Mushroom has 161 total units in the United States, including 156 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Mellow Mushroom a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Mellow Mushroom as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.