Savannah Seafood Shack Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $283K – $805K
- Disclosed sales
- $2.5M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Savannah Seafood Shack is a casual seafood franchise serving Lowcountry-style seafood and coastal fare. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the kitchen, service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Savannah Seafood Shack franchise requires a total initial investment of $283K – $805K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.5M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $283K – $805K
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.5M
- Company-owned only1 outlet
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · 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 $283K – $805K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.5M/year (company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 38/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGRevenue data based on only 1 outlet. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Savannah Seafood Shack Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Savannah Seafood Shack Holdings LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2022 FDD
- CEO title
- Co-Owner
- Christine Cutlip
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 3 Fort Bartow Drive, Savannah, Georgia 31410
- Auditor
- GTL, LLP
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Christine Cutlip
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 20% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown20 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $35K | |
| Delayed Opening Fee | $0 | $9K | |
| Your Training Expenses | $500 | $10K | |
| Third Party Management/Leadership Training (McClaskey Excellence Institute or similar program) | $1K | $3K | |
| Premises deposits | $3K | $7K | |
| Rent - 3 months | $8K | $21K | |
| Design and Architect Fees | $500 | $3K | |
| On-Site Location Evaluation | $0 | $500 | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Construction and/or Remodeling | $100K | $425K | |
| Equipment, Furniture, Fixtures & Signage | $80K | $150K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $1K | $2K | |
| Computer Systems | $3K | $5K | |
| Computer System Installation & Training | $0 | $1K | |
| Initial Inventory to Begin Operating | $15K | $30K | |
| Professional Fees | $2K | $5K | |
| Pre-Opening Assistance and Training | $10K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $10K | $10K | |
| Insurance | $900 | $4K | |
| Ancillary Real Estate Costs | $5K | $25K | |
| Operating Expenses / Additional Funds - 3 months | $10K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $283K | $805K |
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
- $283K – $805K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 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 | $0 |
| Training fee | $10K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $30K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 57% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Savannah Seafood Shack until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$574K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Savannah Seafood Shack unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
- Avg gross sales
- $2.5M
- Per unit, per year
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned outlet
- Sample size
- 1 outlet
- vs category median 18 · small
- Reported figure
- $2.5MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 50 of the 2022 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- A single outlet — not a range
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
- Transparency
- 8 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 4.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.5M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.6x. Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 8/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 1 outlet — treat as directional only.
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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Savannah Seafood Shack Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- GA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
Startup franchisor (began 2022) with only 1 company-owned unit and zero franchised units. No litigation or bankruptcy, audited financials, Item 19 disclosed with avg gross sales of $2,523,429. Thin net worth of $100,000 and limited history are the main notes.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · GTL, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 38 / 100 verdict
- 01MED1 unit, 0 franchised, limited history
- 02MINORThin net worth $100,000
- 03MEDNo litigation/bankruptcy; audited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · 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 | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.3 mi |
| 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 | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Chatham County, Georgia (or offices of American Arbitration Association) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 72 hrs
- Training location
- franchisee's premises and franchisor headquarters
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 80 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 11 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisor_approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Savannah Seafood Shack franchise?
The total investment to open a Savannah Seafood Shack franchise ranges from $283K – $805K, 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 Savannah Seafood Shack franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Savannah Seafood Shack FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.5M. Important context: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance; Based on a single outlet - not a system average. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Savannah Seafood Shack?
Savannah Seafood Shack is franchised by Savannah Seafood Shack Franchise LLC. Its parent company is Savannah Seafood Shack Holdings LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Savannah Seafood Shack 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 Savannah Seafood Shack FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Savannah Seafood Shack's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Savannah Seafood Shack (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 Savannah Seafood Shack franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Savannah Seafood Shack has 1 total units in the United States.
Is Savannah Seafood Shack a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Savannah Seafood Shack as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 38 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.