Savvy Sliders Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $588K – $1.1M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.1M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Savvy Sliders is a fast-casual franchise serving fresh sliders, chicken tenders, fries, and shakes. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and fast counter and drive-thru service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Savvy Sliders franchise requires a total initial investment of $588K – $1.1M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[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: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $588K – $1.1M
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 37
- 60th 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 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 $588K – $1.1M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.0M).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 40/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +8 franchised outlets in the latest year (8 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- FLAGBankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Savvy Sliders Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- AKJ Brands LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Manager
- Happy Asker
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 30955 Northwestern Highway, Suite 300, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334
- Auditor
- UHY LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.7M
- vs $2.0M prior year
Affiliated brands
- and is the franchisor for
- and owns our Proprietary
- and provides construction
- and administers and
- that sells products to our
- and administers and places
- that may sell products to our
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Happy Asker
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 6
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 71% above 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Rentnot refundable | $17K | $63K | |
| Security Deposits | $7K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $240K | $350K | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixturesnot refundable | $221K | $430K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Permits and Licensesnot refundable | $1K | $8K | |
| Initial Inventorynot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $10K | $30K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $15K | $15K | |
| Architecture & MEP Drawingsnot refundable | $3K | $10K | |
| Travel Expenses for Trainingnot refundable | $0 | $15K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $3K | $7K | |
| Opening Assistancenot refundable | $0 | $15K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months)not refundable | $10K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $588K | $1.1M |
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
- $588K – $1.1M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Tiered by sales volume · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $430 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $9K |
| Renewal fee | $9K |
| Inventory (initial) | $25K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 15% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Savvy Sliders 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
$852K
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 Savvy Sliders 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.0M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 29 outlets
- vs category median 19
- Range (low → high)
- $364K→$2.1MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 57 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $724K→$1.7M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 $1.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 76.2% CAGR over 3 years across 37 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 medians
How Savvy Sliders Compares
Category median of published Quick-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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 37
- Opened
- 8
- 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
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +76.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +76.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 7
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 24.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
44 current owners across 6 states.
- MI 34
- FL 4
- OH 3
- IN 1
- LA 1
- TX 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- $696K
- Median loan
- $348K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 2 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (2)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (2)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Two matters disclosed: (1) United States v. Happy Asker, Maher Bashi et al. (E.D. Mich., 2013) - criminal tax fraud indictment against officers (not the franchisor); both found guilty, sentenced, restitution ordered. (2) Edmond Mourad et al. v. Happy's Pizza Franchise, LLC et al. (Oakland County, MI, 2015) - investors sought refund of $335,000 franchise fee alleging misrepresentation about liquor license; settled with $335,000 refund, dismissed with prejudice 2019.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: the company or an affiliate. Disclosed (Item 4 covers the last 10 years)
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · UHY LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHCriminal tax fraud indictment involving both principals (Happy Asker and Maher Bashi) creates severe legal and reputational risk
- 02HIGHActive civil litigation from Happy's Pizza investors alleging false representations about liquor licenses suggests pattern of misleading franchisees
- 03MEDNet Income not disclosed despite $1.12M average unit revenue — suggests profitability problems or financial opacity
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($352K-$1.07M) combined with 5-6% royalties creates breakeven challenges if margins compressed
- 05HIGHLitigation pattern suggests potential misrepresentation of unit economics and regulatory compliance to franchisees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two matters disclosed: (1) United States v. Happy Asker, Maher Bashi et al. (E.D. Mich., 2013) - criminal tax fraud indictment against officers (not the franchisor); both found guilty, sentenced, restitution ordered. (2) Edmond Mourad et al. v. Happy's Pizza Franchise, LLC et al. (Oakland County, MI, 2015) - investors sought refund of $335,000 franchise fee alleging misrepresentation about liquor license; settled with $335,000 refund, dismissed with prejudice 2019.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 34 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 416 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate Office and Certified Training Store in southeast Michigan
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- joint
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
44 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 Savvy Sliders franchise?
The total investment to open a Savvy Sliders franchise ranges from $588K – $1.1M, 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 Savvy Sliders franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Savvy Sliders FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Savvy Sliders?
Savvy Sliders is franchised by Savvy Sliders Franchise, LLC. Its parent company is AKJ Brands LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Savvy Sliders 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 Savvy Sliders FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Savvy Sliders's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Savvy Sliders (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 Savvy Sliders franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Savvy Sliders has 37 total units in the United States, including 37 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Savvy Sliders a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Savvy Sliders as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 40 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
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.