Melting Pot® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.6M – $2.7M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.2M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 29.3%
- on 75 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Melting Pot is a full-service fondue franchise where guests cook cheese, entree, and chocolate fondues tableside. Franchisees run upscale-casual restaurants managing kitchen, tableside service, and staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Melting Pot® franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.6M – $2.7M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 29.3% charge-off rate across 75 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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
- $1.6M – $2.7M
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 89
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 29.3%
- % 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 $1.6M – $2.7M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $1.9M).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 29.3% across 75 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -2 franchised outlets in the latest year (2 opened, 4 closed); 8 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
- CEO title
- CEO
- John "JC" Crawford
- Incorporated in
- FL
- HQ
- 7886 Woodland Center Boulevard, Tampa, Florida 33614
- Auditor
- CBIZ CPAs P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $26.5M
- vs $26.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- John "JC" Crawford
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 1984
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 29
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 221% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $36K | $45K | |
| Real Estate Services Fee | $3K | $3K | |
| Extensions for Securing Site or Opening Restaurant | $0 | $12K | |
| Real Estate (Rent - First 3 months) | $29K | $81K | |
| Security Deposit | $0 | $23K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $830K | $1.4M | |
| Computer and Point of Sale Hardware/Software | $25K | $32K | |
| Computer Software Installation and Training; First Year Subscription | $9K | $15K | |
| Gift Card Processing and Website Development/Enhancement Fee (3 months) | $677 | $747 | |
| Restaurant Equipment, Furniture, Fixtures and Signage | $439K | $732K | |
| Utility Deposits | $4K | $6K | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $60K | $70K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $15K | $20K | |
| Training Expenses | $90K | $170K | |
| Permits, Licenses - Alcoholic Beverages, Business and Health | $6K | $10K | |
| Insurance (3 months) | $750 | $2K | |
| Legal | $2K | $3K | |
| Accounting Firm (3 months) | $2K | $3K | |
| Reservation System (3 months) | $2K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $65K | $125K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.6M | $2.7M |
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
- $1.6M – $2.7M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $65K – $125K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.2%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.2%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.2% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $90K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $23K |
| Inventory (initial) | $60K – $70K |
| Total fee load | 7.2% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 35% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Melting Pot® 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
$2.3M
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 Melting Pot® 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.9M
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
- 85 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $938K→$8.5MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 55 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.4M→$3.2M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
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 $2.2M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.2% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -4.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 13% 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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Melting Pot® 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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 89
- Opened
- 2
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.5%
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 12.5%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -4.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -4.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 0
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 8
- 0.09 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 3.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 3.4%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 29 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
87 current owners across 30 states.
- FL 15
- TX 6
- VA 6
- GA 5
- MD 5
- CO 4
- NC 4
- OH 4
- PA 4
- CA 3
- SC 3
- WA 3
- +18 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
- 75
- Loan volume
- $48.2M
- Median loan
- $649K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 29.3%
- on 75 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)
- 70.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 26
- Defaults
- 22
- Typical loan rate
- 6.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 21.6%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 2,850
- 5.9 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 27%
- top lender's share
Franchise vs independent — in full-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.6% vs 22.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 4% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Melting Pot® charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Melting Pot® franchisees
Showing 3 of 26 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 Melting Pot® from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 21.6%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 74%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.06%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $474K
- Lender concentration
- 26.7%
- Job velocity
- 5.9 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 24.7%
- NAICS 722110
- Jobs supported
- 2,850
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 27% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comerica Bank | 20 | $14.8M | 40.0% |
| 2 | Northeast Bank | 14 | $14.6M | 42.9% |
| 3 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 7 | $3.0M | 14.3% |
| 4 | PNC Bank, National Association | 4 | $1.7M | 0.0% |
| 5 | Wachovia SBA Lending, Inc. | 4 | $870K | 0.0% |
| 6 | The Huntington National Bank | 4 | $1.2M | 0.0% |
| 7 | Readycap Lending, LLC | 3 | $1.9M | 66.7% |
| 8 | KS StateBank | 1 | $100K | 0.0% |
| 9 | Citibank, N.A. | 1 | $100K | 100.0% |
| 10 | Synovus Bank | 1 | $84K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 10 | 5 | 50.0% |
| FLFlorida | 9 | 3 | 33.3% |
| NJNew Jersey | 5 | 2 | 40.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 5 | 1 | 20.0% |
| TXTexas | 5 | 3 | 60.0% |
| INIndiana | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NCNorth Carolina | 4 | 2 | 50.0% |
| NYNew York | 4 | 2 | 50.0% |
| OHOhio | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| COColorado | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
A 29.3% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 29.3% — 83% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Melting Pot presents moderate-to-elevated risk due to declining unit growth, undisclosed profitability metrics, and prior employment litigation, though the brand retains revenue scale and protected territories.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
1 prior action: Washington AG investigation into no-poach franchise agreement provisions; settled via Assurance of Discontinuance in September 2019 with no admission of liability.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CBIZ CPAs P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenues of $26,498,716 are from the audited consolidated statement of operations (FY ended 3/31/2025), comprising initial franchise fees, advertising revenue, royalties, restaurant sales, gift card breakage, and rebates/food/equipment/supplies sales. Items 6/8 cite a slightly different total revenue figure of $26,124,689. other_revenue reflects 'Other income' of $938,766. Net loss of $(3,032,674) driven partly by a $(3,178,925) loss on closure. Balance sheet (page 3) total assets/liabilities/stockholders' equity were not legible in the extracted text and are left null.
ⓘ 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: Yes
- 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
- 01MINORUnit count declining 2.3% YoY indicates shrinking system despite mature brand
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI analysis and profitability verification
- 03MINOR2019 employment litigation and no-poach agreement removal suggests franchisor compliance issues
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.2% 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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 8 mi |
| Territory population | 10 |
| 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 | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Florida (county and state where principal headquarters are located) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | FL |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
1 prior action: Washington AG investigation into no-poach franchise agreement provisions; settled via Assurance of Discontinuance in September 2019 with no admission of liability.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 208 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Training Locations (various states) and Restaurant Support Center, Tampa, FL
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 15 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor-approved; franchisee identifies site, franchisor must accept
- 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
87 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 Melting Pot® franchise?
The total investment to open a Melting Pot® franchise ranges from $1.6M – $2.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Melting Pot® franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Melting Pot® FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.2M. The median is $1.9M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Melting Pot®?
Melting Pot® is franchised by The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Melting Pot® 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 Melting Pot® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Melting Pot®'s franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Melting Pot® has a charge-off rate of 29.3% across 75 loans, meaning 29.3% 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 Melting Pot® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Melting Pot® has 89 total units in the United States, including 85 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Melting Pot® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Melting Pot® as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Melting Pot®, 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.