Monkee’sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A MONKEE’S franchise requires a total initial investment of $297K – $535K, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $297K – $535K
- 30th pct Retail
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 14th pct Retail
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 6th pct Retail
- Units
- 57
- 21st pct Retail
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Retail · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Retail 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
The system grew 24% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
Bottom line
- Total investment $297K – $535K including a $60K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $848K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100.
- System growing at 58.3% CAGR over 3 years with 57 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Monkee’s Franchising, LLC
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 2522 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27106
- Auditor
- Bernard Robinson & Company, L.L.P.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.9M
- vs $4.2M prior year
Overview
About
MONKEE'S franchisees operate casual dining or quick-service restaurant concepts (specific concept unclear from data). Daily operations likely include food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and staff oversight. Revenue generation centers on food/beverage sales with 5% gross receipts paid to franchisor.
- CEO
- Deirdre H. Shaw
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2012
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 12
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $30K | $60K | |
| Real Estatenot refundable | $10K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $108K | $225K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipmentnot refundable | $30K | $40K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $6K | $14K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $5K | $5K | |
| Computer System (Back Office Equipment and Technology)not refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Point of Sale Systemnot refundable | $500 | $500 | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $75K | $100K | |
| Opening Supplies of generic and MONKEE'S Branded Items and Packaging; Store Suppliesnot refundable | $5K | $6K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costsnot refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Prepaid Expenses and Depositsnot refundable | $500 | $1K | |
| Training Expensesnot refundable | $750 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds (3-months' worth)not refundable | $20K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $297K | $535K |
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
$88K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
20%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $297K – $535K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Receipts · 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 |
| Training fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $500 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $848K
- Item 19 type
- Gross Receipts
- Sample size
- 42 units
- vs category median 49
- Range (low → high)
- $222K→$3.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Compared against 304 Retail brands
vs Retail averages
How Monkee’s Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 57
- Opened
- 12
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.8%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +23.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +58.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 5.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 1.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $2.3M
- Median loan
- $333K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Monkee’s's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 5 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
MONKEE'S presents caution-level risk due to undisclosed profitability, aggressive growth masking performance data, litigation history, and absence of going concern statement, making ROI validation impossible before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Monkee's, LLC and Monkee's Franchising, LLC v. South of Your Ankles in Davidson, LLC (File No. 18 CVS 3698, Forsyth County Superior Court, NC, filed July 11, 2018). Dispute over termination of license agreement dated May 16, 2007. Settlement reached providing license termination by December 31, 2018, adjusted royalties of $20.24/day, and three-year non-compete clause.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bernard Robinson & Company, L.L.P.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 5 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Net Income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation despite $1.09M average revenue
- 02MINORAggressive unit growth (23.9% YoY) with only 57 units suggests rapid expansion without profitability proof
- 03HIGHLitigation history shows franchisor willingness to litigate over license terminations, indicating potential enforcement risk
- 04HIGHGoing Concern = False is a critical governance red flag suggesting potential financial instability at corporate level
- 05MINORHigh investment-to-average-revenue ratio (27-49%) with unknown profitability creates break-even uncertainty
- 06MINORProtected territory claim unverified—no data on territory exclusivity enforcement or actual protection mechanisms
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 |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Forsyth County, North Carolina |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Monkee's, LLC and Monkee's Franchising, LLC v. South of Your Ankles in Davidson, LLC (File No. 18 CVS 3698, Forsyth County Superior Court, NC, filed July 11, 2018). Dispute over termination of license agreement dated May 16, 2007. Settlement reached providing license termination by December 31, 2018, adjusted royalties of $20.24/day, and three-year non-compete clause.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 20 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 65 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Heartland Retail POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Heartland Retail POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
15 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
MONKEE’S · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a MONKEE’S franchise?
The total investment to open a MONKEE’S franchise ranges from $297K – $535K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do MONKEE’S franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the MONKEE’S FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $848K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is MONKEE’S's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for MONKEE’S (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 MONKEE’S franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, MONKEE’S has 57 total units in the United States, including 36 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 12 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is MONKEE’S a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates MONKEE’S as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 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.