South Philly Steaks & Fries
Formerly known as Philly's Best
Bottom line
- Total investment $321K – $607K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year (median $1.2M).
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
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 SOUTH PHILLY STEAKS & FRIES unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
41%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 SOUTH PHILLY STEAKS & FRIES units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
40.5%
5.47× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.10×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.4M
on $12.0M purchase
Total debt
$8.6M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service sandwich and fried food restaurants featuring Philly-style steaks, fries, and related menu items. Day-to-day operations include food prep, staffing, inventory management, POS systems, and customer service in what is typically a counter-service or limited-seating environment.
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 · 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 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
A micro-franchise system with severe profitability transparency issues, escalating legal disputes over unpaid royalties, and zero territorial protection—suggesting weak unit economics and systemic franchisee distress.
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 6 units system-wide with unknown growth trajectory suggests minimal scale and network effects
- 02MINORFour royalty recovery lawsuits indicate systemic franchisee profitability/cash flow problems
- 03MINORNo net income disclosure despite $1.2M average revenue raises questions about actual unit economics
- 04HIGHMultiple litigation cases (8 total) including affiliate defaults and trademark disputes suggest operational/legal instability
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization within the small 6-unit base
- 06MEDHigh investment range ($321K-$607K) paired with undisclosed profitability creates unfavorable risk/reward ratio
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
24 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
SOUTH PHILLY STEAKS & FRIES · FDD (2025) PDF