Parlor DoughnutsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Parlor Doughnuts franchise requires a total initial investment of $437K – $808K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $855K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $437K – $808K
- 76th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $855K
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 63
- 66th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Only 0.0% of 22 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
The system grew 86% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
Bottom line
- Total investment $437K – $808K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $855K/year (median $838K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 36/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 500.0% CAGR over 3 years with 63 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Parlor Doughnuts Franchising, LLC
- Incorporated in
- IN
- HQ
- 204 Main Street, Suite D, Evansville, IN, 47708
- Auditor
- Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.8M
- vs $3.7M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate specialty doughnut retail shops, managing daily production/baking, customer service, POS operations, inventory management, and local marketing. They handle staffing, food costs, rent, utilities, and other operational expenses while paying 5% royalties on weekly gross sales to the franchisor.
- CEO
- Darrick Hayden
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 17
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Opening Inventory - Boxes, Cups, Food, Coffee, Supplies | $25K | $35K | |
| Opening Inventory - Merchandise for Sale (mugs, shirts, stickers, glasses, hats, etc.) | $7K | $14K | |
| Lease and Utilities | $7K | $15K | |
| Security Deposit | $7K | $15K | |
| Design Professional Fees (Drawings for Permitting or Construction) | $10K | $30K | |
| General Contractor Fees | $25K | $50K | |
| Build-out of Approved Location (Second Generation) | $125K | $250K | |
| Signage | $10K | $25K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Decor | $25K | $55K | |
| Equipment | $120K | $190K | |
| Initial Training (including Your Travel Expenses) | $2K | $9K | |
| Pre-Opening and Grand Opening Advertising and Marketing | $5K | $10K | |
| Legal and Accounting Fees Related to Startup Assistance | $2K | $5K | |
| Computer System and Required Hardware and Operating System plus Recommended Security Systems | $4K | $10K | |
| Drive Thru Window and Digital Menu (Optional) | $20K | $30K | |
| Insurance (quarterly estimate) | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds for Initial Three Months | $20K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $457K | $838K |
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
$137K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $437K – $808K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Weekly via EFT · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $32K – $49K |
| 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
- $855K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $838K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 50 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $292K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $38K→$109K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Parlor Doughnuts Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 63
- Opened
- 25
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 86%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +86.2%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 25
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 17 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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 22
- Loan volume
- $11.5M
- Median loan
- $507K
- 50th percentile
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Parlor Doughnuts's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 10 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Parlor Doughnuts presents moderate-to-caution risk: aggressive growth from small base, undisclosed profitability metrics, and going concern status raise questions about franchisor stability and realistic franchisee returns.
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 · Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 36 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot verify profitability claims or ROI timeline
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False suggests potential financial instability or recent restructuring at franchisor level
- 03MINORHigh investment range ($437k-$808k) with only $855k average revenue creates tight margin for profitability
- 04MINOR86.2% YoY unit growth is strong but from small base (63 units) — system scale and sustainability unproven
- 05MINOR5% royalty + operating costs could easily consume 60-75% of gross revenue, leaving minimal net profit
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius/Population based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Indiana |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 168 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
54 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Parlor Doughnuts · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Parlor Doughnuts franchise?
The total investment to open a Parlor Doughnuts franchise ranges from $437K – $808K, 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 Parlor Doughnuts franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Parlor Doughnuts FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $855K. The median is $838K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Parlor Doughnuts's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Parlor Doughnuts has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Parlor Doughnuts franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Parlor Doughnuts has 63 total units in the United States. 25 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Parlor Doughnuts a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Parlor Doughnuts as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 36 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.