Playa BowlsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Playa Bowls franchise requires a total initial investment of $256K – $1.0M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 57 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $256K – $1.0M
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 42nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 290
- 85th 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 57 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
The system grew 39% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
Bottom line
- Total investment $256K – $1.0M including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.2M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 57 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 91.9% CAGR over 3 years with 290 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Playa Bowls Franchisor LLC
- Parent company
- PB Group Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Sycamore Partners Management, L.P.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Chair
- John Cappasola
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 803 Ocean Avenue, Belmar, New Jersey 07719
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $45.1M
- vs $51.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- Playa Bowls
- Rabby
- maintains a pr
- Playa Bowls IP
- is the owner of one of the Licensed Marks
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual açai bowl and smoothie cafes, managing daily food preparation, inventory, POS systems, and customer service in high-traffic locations. Operations typically involve 8-15 employees across shifts, sourcing specialty ingredients, maintaining food safety compliance, and driving sales through local marketing and social media engagement.
- CEO
- John Cappasola
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 25
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| On-Site Pre-Opening Assistance and Training Feenot refundable | $4K | $7K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $110K | $507K | |
| Lease Deposits and Rent - Three Months | $3K | $100K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $50K | $134K | |
| Signage | $2K | $40K | |
| Computer, Software, and Point of Sale System | $2K | $12K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $10K | $10K | |
| Initial Inventory | $4K | $35K | |
| Utility Deposits | $1K | $21K | |
| Insurance Deposits - Three Months | $2K | $12K | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $1K | $13K | |
| Professional Fees | $8K | $40K | |
| General Licenses and Permits | $385 | $11K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $25K | $60K | |
| Total initial investment | $256K | $1.0M |
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
$180K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
26%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $256K – $1.0M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $60K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $450 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $35K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.2M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 166 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $463K→$3.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $746K→$1.9M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Playa Bowls Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 290
- Opened
- 73
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 29
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 90%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +38.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +91.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 73
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 115
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 50.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 50.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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
- 57
- Loan volume
- $20.2M
- Median loan
- $416K
- 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
- 23
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Playa Bowls'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 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 57 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Playa Bowls presents moderate-to-caution risk due to undisclosed profitability metrics, explosive growth that may not be sustainable, and opaque unit economics across a wide investment spectrum.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $35,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.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: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability claims against $1.29M average revenue
- 02MINORExtreme unit growth rate of 38.8% YoY raises sustainability concerns and market saturation risks
- 03MINORWide investment range ($255K-$1M+) indicates inconsistent unit economics across locations
- 04MINOR6% royalty on gross sales (not net) creates cash flow pressure during low-margin periods
- 05MINORRapid expansion may strain franchisor support infrastructure and quality control
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Monmouth County, New Jersey |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 11 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Belmar, New Jersey
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
68 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Playa Bowls · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Playa Bowls franchise?
The total investment to open a Playa Bowls franchise ranges from $256K – $1.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Playa Bowls franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Playa Bowls FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Playa Bowls's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Playa Bowls has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 57 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 Playa Bowls franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Playa Bowls has 290 total units in the United States, including 26 franchised units and 29 company-owned units. 73 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Playa Bowls a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Playa Bowls as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 47 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.