Rooster & Rice Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Rooster & Rice is a fast-casual franchise specializing in Thai chicken and rice (khao mun gai) and related dishes. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
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]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $354K – $560K
- 59th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 8
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $354K – $560K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThe only franchised datum is a single outlet at $1,272,347 — which exceeds even the affiliate high of $1,091,376, so it is not a representative figure by any reading. The figure previously shown was the average of six affiliate-owned restaurants (printed p.41). Item 20 shows franchising began from zero outlets in 2022.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 33/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports Actual (Affiliate Locations) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- 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
- Delaware
- HQ
- 3705 Haven Avenue, Suite 132, Menlo Park, California 94025
- Auditor
- Denise McGoey CPA, PLLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $31K
- vs $100K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Bryan Lew
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 31% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown15 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $354K – $560K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category 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 |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Rooster & Rice did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Rooster & Rice unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
24%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
The only franchised datum is a single outlet at $1,272,347 — which exceeds even the affiliate high of $1,091,376, so it is not a representative figure by any reading. The figure previously shown was the average of six affiliate-owned restaurants (printed p.41). Item 20 shows franchising began from zero outlets in 2022.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- Actual (Affiliate Locations)
- Range (low → high)
- $491K→$1.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Actual (Affiliate Locations) rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Multi-unit rate
Only 10% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Rooster & Rice Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 8
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 300% (!)
- Closures exceed total units. See FDD Item 20
- Company-owned
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 13%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 10.0%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 3
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- 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 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)
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.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Small 8-unit system (mostly company-owned: 7 of 8) flagged with financial distress on thin revenue of $99,532. System is contracting with -20% net growth and a high 3.0 (300%) turnover rate, indicating franchisee instability. No litigation or bankruptcy, and Item 19 is disclosed.
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
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 33 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORFinancial distress flagged
- 02MINOROnly 1 franchised unit of 8 (7 company-owned)
- 03MINORThin revenue $99,532
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 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
1 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?
Rooster & Rice does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Rooster & Rice FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Rooster & Rice FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 33 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.