Savannah Seafood ShackFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
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]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $283K – $805K
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.5M
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 2nd 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
Each dollar invested generates 4.6x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
118% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $283K – $805K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.5M/year, with an estimated 118% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 37/100.
- Revenue data based on only 1 reporting unit. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Savannah Seafood Shack Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Savannah Seafood Shack Holdings LLC
- CEO title
- Co-Owner
- Christine Cutlip
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3 Fort Bartow Drive, Savannah, Georgia 31410
- Auditor
- GTL, LLP
- Audited financials
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual full-service seafood restaurants offering dine-in, takeout, and delivery services. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing kitchen and front-of-house staff, maintaining seafood quality/inventory, customer service, marketing, and compliance with franchisor operational standards and weekly 6% royalty payments.
- CEO
- Christine Cutlip
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing · 22 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 | — | |
| Insurance | $900 | $4K | |
| Ancillary Real Estate Costs | $5K | $25K | |
| Operating Expenses / Additional Funds - 3 months | $10K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $672K | $1.7M |
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
$252K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
44%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
27 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $283K – $805K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
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 |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $642K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 118.0%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned outlet
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $2.5M→$2.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is 4.6x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Savannah Seafood Shack Compares
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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 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
Single-unit franchise with unproven scalability, questionable franchisor financial viability (Going Concern=False), and undisclosed Item 19 financials create substantial execution and solvency risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · GTL, LLP
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 37 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor may face solvency/operational viability issues
- 02MINOROnly 1 unit in system with unknown growth trajectory — no proof of scalable model or franchisee success
- 03MINORWide investment range ($283K-$804K) suggests high variability in startup costs and unclear unit economics
- 04MINORFinancial data (Avg Revenue $2.5M, Net Income $642K) cannot be validated with single unit and no Item 19 disclosure
- 05HIGHNo litigation disclosed but Going Concern status raises franchisor financial/legal stability concerns
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 |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.3 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| 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
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
17 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Savannah Seafood Shack · FDD (2022) PDF
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. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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, including 0 franchised units and 1 company-owned units.
Is Savannah Seafood Shack a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Savannah Seafood Shack as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 37 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.