Bottom line
- Total investment $1.6M – $2.7M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $1.9M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 129 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Melting Pot® unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
15%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Melting Pot® units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
30.1%
3.73× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.68×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$8.4M
on $19.1M purchase
Total debt
$10.7M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fondue-based casual dining restaurants where customers cook food tableside in communal pots of melted cheese, broth, or chocolate. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen prep, server training on fondue technique, maintaining table-side equipment, and managing the unique inventory of fondue ingredients and specialty cookware.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 33 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 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
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($1.6M–$2.7M) with no disclosed average net income creates uncertainty on payback period
- 04HIGH2019 employment litigation and no-poach agreement removal suggests franchisor compliance issues
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status (True) may indicate financial stability concerns at corporate level
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Melting Pot® · FDD (2025) PDF