FranchiseVerdict
Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar logo
FV-02311·STRONGExcellent91

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2014Website
Investment
$457K – $1.4M
60th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.3M
28th pct Full Service
Royalty
3.5%
5th pct Full Service
Units
18
53rd pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $457K – $1.4M including a $45K franchise fee, 3.5% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $1.1M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 16 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Shuckin Shack Franchising LLC
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
406 N. 3rd Street, Wilmington, North Carolina 28401
Auditor
Earney Accountants & Advisors, PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$1.5M
vs $1.5M prior year

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 Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,315,675
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $457K–$1.4M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $20K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

25%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$237K
EBITDA margin
18.0%
Total invested
$964K
Payback
49 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

35.0%

4.49× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.33×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$5.1M

on $14.5M purchase

Total debt

$9.3M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($7.2M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate casual seafood restaurants specializing in oysters and shellfish, managing front-of-house service, kitchen operations, inventory procurement, and local marketing. Day-to-day responsibilities include staff scheduling, food quality control, supplier relationships, and driving customer traffic through seasonal promotions and community engagement in protected territories.

CEO
Jonathan Weathington
Founded
2014
FDD year
2025
States available
6

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$457K – $1.4M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$20K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$45K
Royalty
3.5%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.5%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
5.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.3M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.1M
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
16 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$474K$2.5M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank28th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank60th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank5th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank53th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank26th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
18
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
89%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-5.9%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
16±0
Franchised units
2024
16
Franchised units
2025
17
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 9 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 9 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
16
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

54
Risk · 0-100
STRONG54 / 100

Shuckin' Shack presents material profitability opacity, minimal system scale, escalating fee structure, and unresolved corporate financial stability concerns that demand comprehensive validation before commitment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — unable to assess true profitability despite $1.3M average revenue
  2. 02MEDOnly 18 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory — suggests limited brand scale and unproven expansion model
  3. 03MINOREscalating royalty structure (3.5% → 5.5% by year 3) reduces profitability significantly after initial period
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($456K–$1.4M) indicates high variability in unit economics and location-dependent performance
  5. 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — potential financial instability or recent restructuring at corporate level
  6. 06MEDHigh initial investment relative to disclosed average revenue creates extended breakeven risk
  7. 07MINORSeasonal restaurant category (oyster bar) with no mention of off-season mitigation strategies

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
64 hrs
On-the-job training
80 hrs
POS system
SkyTab
Operating tech stack

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

18 numbers

Locked
(919) 413-••••
NC
(352) 421-••••
FL
(706) 294-••••
GA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above