Modern Market EateryFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Modern Market Eatery franchise requires a total initial investment of $929K – $1.5M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.2M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $929K – $1.5M
- 42nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 26
- 30th 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
Franchised units fell from 25 to 3 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
15% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $929K – $1.5M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $2.1M), with an estimated 15% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 17/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Modern Market Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- ModMarket, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Butterfly Equity LP
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- John C. Cywinski
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3001 Brighton Blvd., Suite 701, Denver, CO 80216
- Auditor
- Plante & Moran, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $42K
- vs $524K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Modern Market Eatery franchisees operate health-focused fast-casual restaurants serving customizable bowls, salads, and nutritious prepared meals. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen production, coordinating with suppliers, staffing front-of-house and back-of-house teams, inventory management, and marketing to drive local traffic in their protected territory.
- CEO
- John C. Cywinski
- Headquarters
- CO
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 22 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Lease Deposit | $5K | $30K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $3K | $5K | |
| Architects and Design | $18K | $40K | |
| Construction/Leasehold Improvements | $520K | $700K | |
| Graphics and Signage | $20K | $40K | |
| Kitchen Equipment | $120K | $220K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures | $75K | $150K | |
| Computer and Security Equipment | $25K | $35K | |
| Uniforms | $2K | $4K | |
| Professional Fees | $2K | $5K | |
| Opening Inventory | $10K | $20K | |
| Smallwares | $20K | $25K | |
| Pre-Opening Labor | $10K | $20K | |
| Insurance Deposits | $4K | $6K | |
| Manager In Training | $10K | $40K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $15K | $40K | |
| Site Selection Assistance Feenot refundable | $0 | $500 | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $0 | $9K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months working capital | $30K | $40K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.0M | $1.5M |
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.
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
$268K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
22%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $929K – $1.5M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- 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
- 6.6 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 | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $30K – $45K |
| 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
- $2.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.1M
- Avg ebitda
- $180K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 15.1%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Historical actual financial performance
- Sample size
- 18 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $1.1M→$4.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.4M→$3.5M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Modern Market Eatery Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 26
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 23
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 12%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 8
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
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
Modern Market Eatery presents CAUTION-level risk: a micro-franchise system with undisclosed unit performance data, franchisor financial uncertainty, and high capital requirements relative to reported profitability.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $40,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Plante & Moran, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 17 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) disclosed - cannot verify if $180,499 average net income is achievable or typical
- 02MINOROnly 26 units with unknown growth trajectory - extremely small system raises sustainability and support infrastructure concerns
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is False - suggests potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($928.5K-$1.47M) relative to disclosed net income (8-19% ROI) creates extended payback period risk
- 05MED5% royalty plus operating costs in QSR sector could compress margins below disclosed averages
- 06HIGHNo disclosed litigation but small unit count and lack of financial transparency limits due diligence confidence
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | 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 | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Colorado |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 63 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 297 hrs
- Site selection
- joint
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Modern Market Eatery · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Modern Market Eatery franchise?
The total investment to open a Modern Market Eatery franchise ranges from $929K – $1.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Modern Market Eatery franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Modern Market Eatery FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.2M. The median is $2.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Modern Market Eatery's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Modern Market Eatery (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 Modern Market Eatery franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Modern Market Eatery has 26 total units in the United States, including 25 franchised units and 23 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Modern Market Eatery a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Modern Market Eatery as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 17 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.