FranchiseVerdict
No Grease! Barbershop logo
FV-01786·CAUTIONExcellent86

No Grease! Barbershop

Formerly known as Knights of the Razor

Personal Services - Beauty & SalonFranchising since 2025Website
Investment
$157K – $303K
23rd pct Beauty & Salon
Avg revenue
70th pct Beauty & Salon
Royalty
6.0%
18th pct Beauty & Salon
Units
13
28th pct Beauty & Salon
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $157K – $303K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 72/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 4 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Knights of the Razor Inc.
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
333 East Trade Street, Suite D, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202
Auditor
Bernard Robinson & Company, L.L.P.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$114K
vs $197K prior year

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 No Grease! Barbershop unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: personal services
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $157K–$303K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$40K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

67%

Above typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$173K
EBITDA margin
23.0%
Total invested
$258K
Payback
18 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

No Grease! Barbershop franchisees operate traditional barbershop locations providing haircuts, shaves, and grooming services to male-focused clientele. Daily operations involve managing 2-4 barber chairs, scheduling appointments, managing inventory of products and supplies, and providing direct customer service in a service-based retail environment. The model emphasizes a nostalgic, premium grooming experience with protected territorial exclusivity.

CEO
Damian Johnson
Founded
2017
FDD year
2025
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$157K – $303K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $40K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
6.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
13
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
7.7%
Company-owned
6
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
54%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-14.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-14.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
6-1
Franchised units
2024
7
Franchised units
2025
7
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 18 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 18 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
4
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

72
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION72 / 100

A contracting barbershop franchise (down 14% YoY) with recent regulatory violations, missing financial disclosures, and unclear profitability metrics presents HIGH RISK unsuitable for most retail franchisees.

Score breakdown · what drove the 72 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDUnit count declined 14.3% YoY (13 units) — significant contraction suggesting system-wide challenges or closures
  2. 02MINORRecent Maryland Securities Division Consent Order (January 2025) for unregistered franchise offering — regulatory compliance failure and legal exposure
  3. 03MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income (missing Item 19) — inability to assess profitability or ROI, major due diligence gap
  4. 04MEDHigh initial investment ($157K-$303K) with 6% royalty burden on undisclosed revenue base — unclear unit economics
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern status False — potential financial instability or solvency concerns at franchisor level
  6. 06MINORShrinking franchise system with declining momentum — increases risk of inadequate support and franchisor viability

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
7 years
Renewal term
7 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
1
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
37 hrs
On-the-job training
26 hrs
POS system
not specified
Operating tech stack

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

23 numbers

Locked
(804) 371-••••
VA
(804) 371-••••
VA
(518) 473-••••
NY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

No Grease! Barbershop · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above