FranchiseVerdict
PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA logo
FV-02041·MODERATEExcellent81

Primos Mexican Food & Cantina

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2023Website
Investment
$100K – $595K
6th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
20
54th pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $100K – $595K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 62/100.
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Primos Franchise Holdings VIII, LLC
Parent company
RFT Investors, LP
Incorporated in
California
HQ
5839 Mission Gorge Rd., Ste. C, San Diego, CA, 92120
Auditor
Haynie & Company
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$312K
vs $614K prior year

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 PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $100K–$595K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

33%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$124K
EBITDA margin
16.5%
Total invested
$378K
Payback
37 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate casual Mexican quick-service or full-service restaurants under the Primos brand, managing day-to-day food preparation, customer service, staff scheduling, and inventory while paying 5% royalties (minimum $3,000/month). Operations include compliance with franchisor standards, marketing participation, and maintaining protected territory rights.

CEO
Felix R. Calero
Founded
2022
FDD year
2025
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$100K – $595K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
20
Opened
4
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
5.0%
Company-owned
11
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
45%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+28.6%
Net unit change last year
2023
9+2
Franchised units
2024
7
Franchised units
2025
0
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 12 · 1 state reported

The Territory Map

FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.

1

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

62
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE62 / 100

Undisclosed financials, going concern questions, and rapid growth in a small system create meaningful uncertainty around unit-level profitability and franchisor viability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) — impossible to validate ROI on $100K-$595K investment
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor may be experiencing financial distress or operational instability
  3. 03MINORAggressive unit growth of 28.6% YoY with only 20 total units suggests rapid scaling without proven profitability model
  4. 04MINORDual royalty structure ($3,000/month floor) means marginal operators subsidize franchisor regardless of performance
  5. 05MINOROnly 20 units system-wide limits ability to absorb franchise failures; high concentration risk
  6. 06HIGHNo litigation disclosure provided; inability to verify franchisor's legal history

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Geographic
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
59 hrs
On-the-job training
21 hrs
POS system
Cake POS System
Operating tech stack

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

10 numbers

Locked
(909) 253-••••
CA
(951) 742-••••
CA
(619) 698-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

PRIMOS MEXICAN FOOD & CANTINA · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above