Scooter’s Coffee
Bottom line
- Total investment $692K – $1.5M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $915K/year (median $881K). Estimated payback in 8.6 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 560 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 57.1% CAGR over 3 years with 849 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Scooter’s Coffee unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
8%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Scooter’s Coffee units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$549K
on $2.7M purchase
Total debt
$2.2M
SBA $1.4M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Scooter's Coffee franchisees operate drive-thru and café-based specialty coffee shops, serving espresso drinks, coffee beverages, and food items. Daily operations include inventory management, barista labor scheduling, customer service, and point-of-sale management across what is positioned as a convenience-format coffee concept competing in the drive-thru coffee segment.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 20 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Scooter's Coffee shows growth metrics offset by unprotected territory, absent financial disclosure transparency, active litigation with a franchisee, and extended payback horizons—warranting cautious due diligence before investment.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representation (Going Concern: False) — cannot validate if average revenue/income figures are typical or outliers
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; with 849 units growing 13.2% YoY, market saturation concerns exist
- 03HIGHActive litigation (AAA arbitration, April 2026 hearing) involving franchisor suing franchisee for unpaid royalties signals potential compliance/collection disputes
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($692K–$1.52M) with modest average net income ($129K) yields 5–11 year payback period at best
- 05MINOR6% royalty on net sales structure may mask declining unit profitability as system expands; no transparency on unit economics trending
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
72 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Scooter’s Coffee · FDD (2025) PDF