Parlor Doughnuts Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $437K – $808K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- on 22 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Parlor Doughnuts is a specialty coffee-and-doughnut franchise known for its layered doughnuts and full breakfast menu. Franchisees run the shops, managing baking, coffee service, staffing, and takeout.
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]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above 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 scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $437K – $808K
- 69th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outletsPartial period
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 63
- 69th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
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 $437K – $808K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports monthly avg gross sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 66/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 74 agreements signed but not yet open against 63 open outlets (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 500.0% CAGR over 3 years with 63 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Parlor Doughnuts Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Darrick Hayden
- Incorporated in
- Indiana
- HQ
- 204 Main Street, Suite D, Evansville, IN 47708
- Auditor
- Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.7M
- vs $2.8M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Darrick Hayden
- Headquarters
- IN
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 17
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 28% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Opening Inventory - boxes, cups, food, coffee, supplies, etc. | $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 Drawings for 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) | — | — | |
| Insurance (quarterly estimate) | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds for Initial Three Months | $20K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $437K | $808K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $437K – $808K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 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 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $0 |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $25K – $35K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% 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 Parlor Doughnuts 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 Parlor Doughnuts 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
Includes company-owned outlets
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Item 19 type
- partial-period revenue
- Sample size
- 50
- vs category median 19 · large
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
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 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports monthly avg gross sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 500.0% CAGR over 3 years across 63 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Parlor Doughnuts 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
- 63
- Opened
- 25
- 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
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 86%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 74
- 1.17 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 46
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
54 current owners across 17 states.
- IN 11
- FL 9
- TX 8
- KY 3
- MI 3
- MO 3
- AL 2
- AZ 2
- CO 2
- IL 2
- SC 2
- TN 2
- +5 more states
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 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%
- on 22 loans · 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
- Typical loan rate
- 9.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 10.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 632
- 5.5 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 18%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 10.8% vs 10.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 8% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Parlor Doughnuts franchisees
Showing 3 of 13 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Parlor Doughnuts from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 73%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.32%
- Lender concentration
- 18.2%
- Job velocity
- 5.5 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 8.7%
- NAICS 722513
- Jobs supported
- 632
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 18% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Field & Main Bank | 4 | $1.8M | 0.0% |
| 2 | Centier Bank | 3 | $1.6M | N/A |
| 3 | The Bank of Missouri | 3 | $1.2M | N/A |
| 4 | The Huntington National Bank | 2 | $491K | N/A |
| 5 | Merchants & Marine Bank | 2 | $1.6M | N/A |
| 6 | First Federal Bank | 1 | $875K | N/A |
| 7 | Alerus Financial, National Association | 1 | $412K | N/A |
| 8 | Glacier Bank | 1 | $658K | N/A |
| 9 | Legence Bank | 1 | $320K | N/A |
| 10 | Vista National Bank and Trust | 1 | $570K | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| INIndiana | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FLFlorida | 3 | 0 | -- |
| MOMissouri | 3 | 0 | -- |
| CACalifornia | 2 | 0 | -- |
| GAGeorgia | 2 | 0 | -- |
| MSMississippi | 2 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 2 | 0 | -- |
| AZArizona | 1 | 0 | -- |
| KSKansas | 1 | 0 | -- |
| SCSouth Carolina | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 22 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
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 · Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total net revenues of $3,692,819 (FY2024) comprised franchise fees and royalties of $2,645,495 and merchandise and materials of $1,047,324. Other operating income (vendor rebate income) of $173,281 is reported separately.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 66 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot verify profitability claims or ROI timeline
- 02MINORHigh investment range ($437k-$808k) with only $855k average revenue creates tight margin for profitability
- 03MINOR86.2% YoY unit growth is strong but from small base (63 units) — system scale and sustainability unproven
- 04MINOR5% 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | No |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Vanderburgh County, Indiana |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Indiana |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 14 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 168 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate shops (Evansville, IN), virtual, and franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- 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
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?
Item 19 of the Parlor Doughnuts FDD discloses figures for part of the system 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 Parlor Doughnuts?
Parlor Doughnuts is franchised by Parlor Doughnuts Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Parlor Doughnuts 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 Parlor Doughnuts FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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, including 54 franchised units and 9 company-owned units. 25 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Parlor Doughnuts a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Parlor Doughnuts as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 66 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
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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.