Shuckin’ Shack Oyster BarFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise requires a total initial investment of $457K – $1.4M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 3.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 16.7% charge-off rate across 12 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $457K – $1.4M
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 3.5%
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 18
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 16.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
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).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 16.7% across 12 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Shuckin Shack Franchising LLC
- Ultimate parent
- None
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Jonathan Weathington
- CEO experience
- 2014 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NC
- 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
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- maintains a pr
- Shuckin Shack Oyster Bar
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
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
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 6
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $45K | $45K | |
| Training and Opening Fee | $15K | $15K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $232K | $804K | |
| Lease Deposits and Rent - Three Months | $10K | $30K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $103K | $332K | |
| Signage | $1K | $22K | |
| Computer, Software and Point of Sales System | $9K | $15K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $2K | $8K | |
| Initial Inventory | $15K | $17K | |
| Utility Deposits and Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $1K | $20K | |
| Insurance Deposits - Three Months | $750 | $9K | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $700 | $8K | |
| Professional Fees | $1K | $3K | |
| Licenses and Permits | $2K | $25K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $20K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $457K | $1.4M |
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
$171K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
18%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $457K – $1.4M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $130K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 3.5%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 3.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $162 |
| Training fee | $15K |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $17K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
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 13
- Range (low → high)
- $474K→$2.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- limited
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 18
- 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
- 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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
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).
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.
- Total loans
- 12
- Loan volume
- $3.0M
- Median loan
- $254K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 16.7%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 9
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 6 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 6-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Shuckin' Shack presents material profitability opacity, minimal system scale, escalating fee structure, and unresolved corporate financial stability concerns that demand comprehensive validation before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Largest disclosed settlement: $130,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Earney Accountants & Advisors, PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — unable to assess true profitability despite $1.3M average revenue
- 02MEDOnly 18 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory — suggests limited brand scale and unproven expansion model
- 03MINOREscalating royalty structure (3.5% → 5.5% by year 3) reduces profitability significantly after initial period
- 04MINORWide investment range ($456K–$1.4M) indicates high variability in unit economics and location-dependent performance
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — potential financial instability or recent restructuring at corporate level
- 06MEDHigh initial investment relative to disclosed average revenue creates extended breakeven risk
- 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
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Population-based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 25,000 |
| Online sales rights | 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 |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New Hanover County, North Carolina |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 64 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Wilmington, North Carolina
- Site selection
- franchisee
- POS system
- SkyTab
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SkyTab
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise?
The total investment to open a Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise ranges from $457K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar has a charge-off rate of 16.7% across 12 loans, meaning 16.7% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar has 18 total units in the United States, including 16 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Shuckin’ Shack Oyster Bar as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 57 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.