PJ’s Coffee of New OrleansFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans franchise requires a total initial investment of $263K – $1.7M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $590K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 70 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $263K – $1.7M
- 50th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $590K
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 182
- 81st 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
At 0.6x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.0% of 70 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1989. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
15% cash-on-cash return. Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $263K – $1.7M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $590K/year (median $534K), with an estimated 15% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 70 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 26.1% CAGR over 3 years with 182 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- New Orleans Brew, L.L.C.
- CEO title
- President
- David Mesa, Jr.
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- LA
- HQ
- 4480 LA-22, Suite 2, Mandeville, Louisiana 70471
- Auditor
- Reagan & Reagan CPA, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $5.3M
- vs $5.8M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- New Orleans Roast
- company that will roast and distribute coffee beans
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
PJ's Coffee franchisees operate quick-service coffee shops (espresso, drip coffee, pastries, light food) in high-traffic locations (retail, airport, campus). Day-to-day operations include inventory management, barista scheduling/training, customer service, in-store marketing, and compliance with brand standards (recipes, cleanliness, POS systems).
- CEO
- David Mesa, Jr.
- Headquarters
- LA
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 14
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $15K | $40K | |
| Real Estate Lease Deposit for Premises | $3K | $13K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment | $86K | $243K | |
| Opening Advertising | $13K | $13K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $4K | $5K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $8K | |
| Other Prepaid Expenses (Deposits, Licenses, Permits) | $2K | $8K | |
| Opening Inventory | $10K | $14K | |
| Exterior Signage | $4K | $30K | |
| Free Standing Building or Leasehold Improvements | $80K | $1.2M | |
| Small Wares | $8K | $10K | |
| POS System & Back-office Computer System | $3K | $6K | |
| Legal, Accounting & Organizational Costs | $3K | $5K | |
| Construction Drawings | $2K | $75K | |
| Additional Funds | $30K | $30K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Multi-Unit Option) | $15K | $15K | |
| Store Development Cost (Multi-Unit Option) | $248K | $1.7M | |
| Total initial investment | $525K | $3.4M |
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
$88K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $263K – $1.7M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $30K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Net Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 6.6 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $141 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $590K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $534K
- Avg net income
- $149K
- Cash-on-cash
- 15.2%
- Based on Net Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Actual / Historical
- Sample size
- 117 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $184K→$1.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $569K→$1.2M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.6x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 182
- Opened
- 22
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 7
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.8%
- Company-owned
- 13
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +8.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +26.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 22
- Closed (3yr)
- 9
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Transfers (3yr)
- 18
- Projected new
- 30
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 9.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.5%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 4.9%
- Units that stopped operating
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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 70
- Loan volume
- $31.4M
- Median loan
- $448K
- average
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 31
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 10 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 11-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 70 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
PJ's Coffee presents moderate-to-caution risk: litigation history raises governance concerns, claimed unit economics lack transparency, and modest growth in a saturated segment warrant deep validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
Whitetail 26, LLC, et al. v. New Orleans Brew, LLC (Case No. 01-23-0006-0090, AAA, filed December 23, 2023). Former franchisees initiated arbitration alleging violations of Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act, fraud in inducement, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, abuse of right, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Claimants sought rescission and monetary damages. Final arbitration hearing held April 2025; arbitrator issued award in June 2025 in favor of Claimants for investment losses, ongoing expenses, and limited lost investment earnings. Arbitrator found termination executed in bad faith but rejected fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims. Both parties filed motions to modify award and are considering settlement discussions.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Reagan & Reagan CPA, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 5 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHActive litigation involving bad faith termination claims (Whitetail 26) and food contamination personal injury lawsuit (Unique Marie Hankston) suggests operational/legal vulnerabilities
- 02MINORWide investment range ($262.5K–$1.7M) indicates inconsistent unit economics and unclear cost structure across locations
- 03MINORNet profit margin of 25.3% ($149K on $589K revenue) appears optimistic given 5% royalty, labor, rent, and COGS in QSR; claims lack third-party validation (no Item 19 financial statement)
- 04MINORModest unit growth of 8.3% YoY in competitive coffee market raises questions about expansion difficulty and franchisee recruitment challenges
- 05HIGHHigh franchise fee ($40K) combined with litigation history may deter qualified candidates, creating pressure to relax vetting standards
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Louisiana |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Whitetail 26, LLC, et al. v. New Orleans Brew, LLC (Case No. 01-23-0006-0090, AAA, filed December 23, 2023). Former franchisees initiated arbitration alleging violations of Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act, fraud in inducement, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, abuse of right, and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Claimants sought rescission and monetary damages. Final arbitration hearing held April 2025; arbitrator issued award in June 2025 in favor of Claimants for investment losses, ongoing expenses, and limited lost investment earnings. Arbitrator found termination executed in bad faith but rejected fraud and negligent misrepresentation claims. Both parties filed motions to modify award and are considering settlement discussions.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 50 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 60 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
125 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans franchise?
The total investment to open a PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans franchise ranges from $263K – $1.7M, 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 PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $590K. The median is $534K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 70 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 PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans has 182 total units in the United States, including 134 franchised units and 13 company-owned units. 22 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 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.