Rooster & RiceFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Rooster & Rice franchise requires a total initial investment of $354K – $560K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $797K[2]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $354K – $560K
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $797K
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 8
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
Franchised units fell from 1 to 0 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $354K – $560K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $797K/year (median $884K).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 82/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Rooster & Rice Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Rooster & Rice Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Bryan Lew
- CEO experience
- 13 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3705 Haven Avenue, Suite 132, Menlo Park, California 94025
- Auditor
- Denise McGoey CPA, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $31K
- vs $100K prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Rooster & Rice franchisees operate fast-casual or quick-service restaurants featuring rice-based dishes (likely Asian cuisine). Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, customer service, staffing, and adherence to brand standards while managing 5% royalty obligations on gross sales.
- CEO
- Bryan Lew
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $4K | $6K | |
| Real Estate Rent, Deposits, and Pre-Paid Expenses (3 months) | $18K | $56K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Decor, and Equipment | $42K | $85K | |
| Construction of Leasehold Improvements | $180K | $260K | |
| Inventory and Supplies | $3K | $6K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $2K | $4K | |
| Grand Opening | $10K | $10K | |
| Computer, POS System, and Office Supplies | $3K | $4K | |
| Insurance (3 months) | $600 | $3K | |
| Architectural Services | $10K | $15K | |
| Professional Services | $3K | $5K | |
| Signage | $4K | $12K | |
| Additional Funds (3 Months) | $40K | $60K | |
| Area Development Feenot refundable | $28K | $53K | |
| Total initial investment | $381K | $613K |
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
$96K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $354K – $560K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $11K |
| Renewal fee | $7K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $797K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $884K
- Item 19 type
- Actual (Affiliate Locations)
- Sample size
- 6 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $491K→$1.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Rooster & Rice Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 8
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 13%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 10.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 37.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rooster & Rice presents moderate-to-high risk due to undisclosed profitability, minimal unit count, lack of financial substantiation, and an investment size that consumes 44-70% of average unit revenue.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Denise McGoey CPA, PLLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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 82 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — unable to verify actual profitability or ROI on $353k-$560k investment
- 02MINOROnly 8 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient data on unit economics and franchise viability
- 03MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio ($353k-$560k for ~$797k avg revenue) suggests thin margins and extended payback period
- 04MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representations — franchisor not substantiating claimed average revenue with actual franchisee data
- 05MINORSmall franchisee base creates concentration risk and limits validation pool for due diligence
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/Geographic |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | San Mateo County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 23 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 67 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Square POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Rooster & Rice · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Rooster & Rice franchise?
The total investment to open a Rooster & Rice franchise ranges from $354K – $560K, 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 Rooster & Rice franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Rooster & Rice FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $797K. The median is $884K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Rooster & Rice's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Rooster & Rice (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 Rooster & Rice franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Rooster & Rice has 8 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 7 company-owned units.
Is Rooster & Rice a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Rooster & Rice as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 82 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.