Original Rainbow Cone Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2.0M – $3.2M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Original Rainbow Cone is a Chicago ice cream franchise famous for its signature five-flavor rainbow cone. Franchisees run the shops, managing product prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Original Rainbow Cone franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.0M – $3.2M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. 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 scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $2.0M – $3.2M
- 99th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 25
- 52nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-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 $2.0M – $3.2M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 contains no average anywhere. The only franchised data is two individual outlets of different formats — Express $202,703 and In-Line $235,372 (printed p.70) — and the FDD expressly forbids reading across them: 'You should only rely on the data presented for the type of outlet you are purchasing.' The figure previously shown was a single affiliate-owned free-standing store, the original 1926 Chicago location.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +4 franchised outlets in the latest year (4 opened, 0 closed); 2 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports gross sales and pnl rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Five Flavors Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- None (no parent)
- CEO title
- Manager
- Joseph Buonavolanto Jr.
- Incorporated in
- IL
- HQ
- 7075 Veterans Blvd., Burr Ridge, IL 60527
- Auditor
- R.J. Augustine & Associates, Ltd.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $741K
- vs $582K prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1
12 other brands on this site name None (no parent) as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
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Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Joseph Buonavolanto Jr.
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 6
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 441% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $35K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $2.0M | $3.1M |
| Total initial investment | $2.0M | $3.2M |
Source: Original Rainbow Cone 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.0M – $3.2M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $75K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $75 |
| Training fee | $21K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Original Rainbow Cone is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Original Rainbow Cone 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 annual revenue, 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.
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
Item 19 contains no average anywhere. The only franchised data is two individual outlets of different formats — Express $202,703 and In-Line $235,372 (printed p.70) — and the FDD expressly forbids reading across them: 'You should only rely on the data presented for the type of outlet you are purchasing.' The figure previously shown was a single affiliate-owned free-standing store, the original 1926 Chicago location.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- gross sales and pnl
- Sample size
- 17 outlets
- vs category median 19
- Range (low → high)
- $109K→$1.6MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 77 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports gross sales and pnl rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +200.0% over 3 years (4 opened, 0 closed).
Multi-unit rate
Only 9% 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 Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Original Rainbow Cone Compares
Category median of published Quick-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
- 25
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 19
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 24%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 9.1%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +200.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 2
- 0.08 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 4.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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
4 current owners across 3 states.
- IL 2
- CA 1
- FL 1
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.
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 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $3.0M
- Median loan
- $1.5M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 2 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (2)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Early-stage, rapidly expanding franchise with undisclosed unit economics, franchisor financial concerns, and extreme growth metrics that prioritize recruitment over proven profitability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · R.J. Augustine & Associates, Ltd.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExtreme unit growth of 200% YoY is unsustainable and suggests aggressive recruitment over profitability focus
- 02MEDOnly 25 total units suggests early-stage system with limited track record and higher failure risk
- 03MEDNo litigation disclosed, but combined with lack of financial transparency, raises opacity concerns
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 40,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | IL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 135 hrs
- Training location
- Chicago, Illinois area at a restaurant we designate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 18 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- 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
4 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 Original Rainbow Cone franchise?
The total investment to open a Original Rainbow Cone franchise ranges from $2.0M – $3.2M, 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 Original Rainbow Cone franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Original Rainbow Cone FDD discloses outlet figures from $109K to $1.6M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Original Rainbow Cone?
Original Rainbow Cone is franchised by Five Flavors Franchising LLC. Its parent company is None (no parent). Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Original Rainbow Cone 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 Original Rainbow Cone FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Original Rainbow Cone's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Original Rainbow Cone (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 Original Rainbow Cone franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Original Rainbow Cone has 25 total units in the United States, including 6 franchised units and 19 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Original Rainbow Cone a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Original Rainbow Cone as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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?
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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.