Skrimp Shack Food Truck Franchise Cost & 2025 FDD Data
44/100
Middle tier
44 this brand53 Full-Service Restaurants medianlikely 29–59: narrower with more SBA loans (low confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#2,122 of 3,068 graded brands
Why a C: Helped by financial health and transparency. Held back by unit growth, scale and legal record. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $80K – $480K
- Avg gross sales
- not extracted
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from the FDD filing. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2025 FDD
Per the 2025 FDD, a Skrimp Shack Food Truck franchise requires a total initial investment of $80K – $480K, including a $15K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 5.0%. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. Verdict grade: C (Middle tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2025 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium (issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file)
Evidence for the headline figures: thin✓ 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 scored4 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Full-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Full-Service Restaurants median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSNo Item 19 gross sales figure is on file for this brand. We have not established what its FDD discloses.
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets fell by 1 (0 opened, 1 closed).
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $36K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $56K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $224K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (2)
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- The franchisor receives rebates or payments from suppliers you buy from (Item 8, required suppliers).
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating, no pending lawsuit naming the franchisor and the full filing on file. Not on file here, so ask: unit trend, SBA charge-off rate against the category median, jury-trial waiver and owner-operator rule.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 74% below the Full-Service Restaurants median ($1.1M).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Skrimp Shack LLC (Item 1: 744 City Center Boulevard, Suite 400, Newport News, Virginia 23606) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
FDD Item 7 (startup costs) · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (first 3 months) | $5K | $10K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $60K | $455K |
| Total initial investment | $80K | $480K |
Source: Skrimp Shack Food Truck 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fundBrand-wide marketing pool. Brand Development Fee: up to 1% of Gross Sales monthly | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology feePoint of Sale System Maintenance $280/month | $280/month |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee loadnear the Full-Service Restaurants median of 6.4% | 6.0% of sales |
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Skrimp Shack Food Truck unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $280K Item 7 midpoint is a $224K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $36K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $56K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $280K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $224K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
No Item 19 gross sales figure for Skrimp Shack Food Truck is on file. The return models need one gross sales figure to start from, plus the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions; nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Skrimp Shack Food Truck unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Not disclosed in Item 19. Enter your own gross sales assumption
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
No Item 19 figures are on file for this brand. Enter your own costs from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $80K to $480K
Item 7's $5K to $10K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies annual revenue, COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $224K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
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 · filed by Skrimp Shack LLC
Financial performance
We have not established what this franchisor's Item 19 says. The FDD on file either has no locatable Item 19 or could not be read, so no figure is published here.
Item 19 covers the parent format. The filing's Item 19 groups describe Skrimp Shack, not this format, so they are printed on the Skrimp Shack page.
vs Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Skrimp Shack Food Truck compares
Category median of published Full-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.
System figures: see Skrimp Shack
System figures: see Skrimp Shack
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What are the risks?
Main risk in the grade: unit growth, then scale and legal. The reasons are below.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade C: Middle tier, 44/100 (category median 53); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why a C, factor by factor
- Financial health HelpsAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; franchisor net income positive
- Unit economics NeutralNo Item 19 sales figure to set against the investment, so neutral
- Unit growth Weighs on it, weakest dimensionTurnover 13.3%
- Scale Weighs on itFranchising since 2015
- Legal Weighs on it2 matters naming the franchisor among the Item 3 matters we list
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 status not confirmed (neither credit nor penalty); audited financials
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Two Virginia SCC settlement orders (2016 and 2020) related to selling franchises before registration and providing financial performance information to prospects without required disclosure; penalties totaling $15,500 (2016) and $25,000 (2020); no admission of allegations
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Colby & Company, PLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor disclosed total revenues of $832,320 for FY2024 in context of PepsiCo rebate disclosure ($6,664.50 = 0.9% of total revenues)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Franchisor takes supplier rebates: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
System figures: see Skrimp Shack
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 2 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Territory population | 25,000 |
| Online sales rights | Reserved by franchisor |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Non-compete (years) | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles) | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Virginia |
| Governing law | Virginia |
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- On-the-job training
- 322 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee, subject to franchisor acceptance and criteria; national broker may be used
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Skrimp Shack Food Truck franchise?
Per the 2025 FDD, the total investment to open a Skrimp Shack Food Truck franchise ranges from $80K to $480K, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Skrimp Shack Food Truck franchise owners earn?
No average owner earnings figure for Skrimp Shack Food Truck is on file. Item 19, where a franchisor may disclose what its outlets earn, is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and we have not established what this brand's FDD says. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Skrimp Shack Food Truck?
Skrimp Shack Food Truck is franchised by Skrimp Shack LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Skrimp Shack Food Truck 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 Skrimp Shack Food Truck FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Skrimp Shack Food Truck's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Skrimp Shack Food Truck has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
Is Skrimp Shack Food Truck a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Skrimp Shack Food Truck a C Verdict grade (Middle tier) with a verdict score of 44 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by financial health (audited financials) and transparency. Held back by unit growth (turnover 13.3%), scale (franchising since 2015) and legal record (2 matters naming the franchisor among the Item 3 matters we list). The “Why a C” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.