Penn Station East Coast Subs
Bottom line
- Total investment $474K – $765K including a $25K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $817K/year (median $773K). Estimated payback in 5.3 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 82 loans (below the industry average).
- 67% of franchisees own multiple units — high repeat-buyer signal suggests strong unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
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 Penn Station East Coast Subs unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
19%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Penn Station East Coast Subs units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.3M
on $6.5M purchase
Total debt
$5.2M
SBA $3.3M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Penn Station franchisees operate quick-service submarine sandwich shops, preparing fresh-made subs to order and managing counter service, inventory, staffing, and local marketing. Daily operations center on food prep, customer service, point-of-sale management, and adherence to brand standards across a typical 1,500–2,500 sq ft footprint.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Mature, stable but stagnant franchise system with declining unit count, compressed profit margins, and limited financial transparency—suitable only for operators comfortable with modest returns and patient capital.
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-0.3% YoY on 322 units) suggests stagnant or contracting system growth
- 02MINORWide royalty range (0-8%) creates unpredictable cost structure; unclear how many units hit 8% tier vs. benefit from abatement
- 03MINORNet income of $117,415 on $816,785 revenue (14.4% margin) is modest for QSR; leaves little buffer for economic downturns or underperformance
- 04HIGHNo disclosed litigation is positive, but absence of Item 19 financial data limits ability to validate average unit volumes and profitability claims
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($473K–$765K) paired with modest average net income creates extended payback period risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
97 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Penn Station East Coast Subs · FDD (2025) PDF