Pedal Pub Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $115K – $281K
- Disclosed sales
- $469K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (8)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pedal Pub is a recreation franchise operating group party bikes that pedal riders on guided tours between local stops. Franchisees run local operations, managing the bikes, drivers, bookings, and tour routes.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pedal Pub franchise requires a total initial investment of $115K – $281K, including a $20K – $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $469K[2]. 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: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $115K – $281K
- 4th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $469K
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 21
- 20th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-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 $115K – $281K including a $20K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $469K/year (median $114K).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 3 closed) (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 25.0% CAGR over 3 years with 21 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- PP Development, LLC
- Parent company
- PCH Entertainment LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2024 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Proprietors Capital Holdings, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- PedalPub, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Todd Treml
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3212 Rice Street, St. Paul, MN 55126
- Auditor
- Copeland Buhl & Company PLLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.9M
- vs $1.9M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Todd Treml
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 10
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 71% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $20K | $20K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $80K | $211K |
| Total initial investment | $115K | $281K |
Source: Pedal Pub 2024 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
- $115K – $281K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $500 – $2K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 71% below the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Pedal Pub until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$230K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Pedal Pub 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 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.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $469K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $114K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenues
- Sample size
- 13 outlets
- vs category median 18
- Range (low → high)
- $41K→$3.8MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 55 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $469K/year in gross sales. Median is $114K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 10.0% — above the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 25.0% CAGR over 3 years across 21 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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Pedal Pub Compares
Category median of published Full-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 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 21
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Turnover rate
- 15.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 95%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +25.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 20 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
34 current owners across 20 states.
- FL 5
- GA 3
- LA 3
- MO 3
- ID 2
- IL 2
- IN 2
- MN 2
- AR 1
- CA 1
- CT 1
- MA 1
- +8 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 10 entries carry no state. 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 8 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 8
- Loan volume
- $1.2M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (8)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 8 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 (8)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (8)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- 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
Pedal Pub presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to unresolved litigation exposure, undisclosed profitability metrics, small system size with unknown growth, and inherent liability risks in the party bike business model.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Five lawsuits arising from a single April 2022 incident in which a franchisee's Pedal Pub bike allegedly overturned during a tour in Atlanta, GA. First case by 4 plaintiffs (1 case); four additional cases by 4 individual plaintiffs. All allege negligence, vicarious liability, negligent training/supervision. PP Development denied all liability. First case: summary judgment granted for PP Development, motion to reconsider pending. Second group: all four cases dismissed without prejudice by plaintiffs; re-filing anticipated.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Copeland Buhl & Company PLLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Consolidated Revenues of PP Development, LLC and Subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2023 (audited, GAAP). 2022 audited by a prior auditor.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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
Score breakdown · what drove the 58 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive litigation with pending motion to reconsider and anticipated refiling creates ongoing legal/liability exposure and potential for franchisor assessment/indemnification claims
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation; $468,825 average revenue against $114,645-$281,196 investment leaves unclear profit margins after 8-10% royalties
- 03MEDSmall unit count (21 locations) with unknown growth trajectory suggests limited system maturity and scalability; no disclosure of unit growth rate raises sustainability questions
- 04MINORHigh per-unit liability risk in party/alcohol-adjacent business model creates insurance cost uncertainty and franchisee personal liability exposure
- 05MEDFranchise fee ($39,900) represents 34-35% of minimum investment with no disclosed profitability metrics to justify early payback
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 10.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Not allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Minnesota (AAA office closest to principal executive office) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MN |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Five lawsuits arising from a single April 2022 incident in which a franchisee's Pedal Pub bike allegedly overturned during a tour in Atlanta, GA. First case by 4 plaintiffs (1 case); four additional cases by 4 individual plaintiffs. All allege negligence, vicarious liability, negligent training/supervision. PP Development denied all liability. First case: summary judgment granted for PP Development, motion to reconsider pending. Second group: all four cases dismissed without prejudice by plaintiffs; re-filing anticipated.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 8 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 19 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate Office (St. Paul, MN), existing franchisee market, electronically, or franchisee's market
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects, subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
44 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 Pedal Pub franchise?
The total investment to open a Pedal Pub franchise ranges from $115K – $281K, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Pedal Pub franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Pedal Pub FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $469K. The median is $114K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Pedal Pub?
Pedal Pub is franchised by PP Development, LLC. Its parent company is PCH Entertainment LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Proprietors Capital Holdings, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Pedal Pub 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 Pedal Pub FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Pedal Pub's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Pedal Pub (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 Pedal Pub franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pedal Pub has 21 total units in the United States, including 20 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Pedal Pub a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pedal Pub as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 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?
If you represent Pedal Pub, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.