FranchiseVerdict
STALK & SPADE logo
FV-02434·AVOIDExcellent81FDD 2022

Stalk & Spade

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2021Website
Investment
$767K – $1.3M
82nd pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
7.0%
87th pct Full Service
Units
1
3rd pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $767K – $1.3M including a $65K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated AVOID with a risk score of 79/100.
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Stalk & Spade Franchising LLC
Parent company
Stalk & Spade LLC
Incorporated in
Minnesota
HQ
746 Mill Street E, Wayzata, MN 55391
Auditor
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$96K
Most recent fiscal 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 STALK & SPADE unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
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: $767K–$1.3M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $50K–$75K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

9%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$105K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$1.1M
Payback
127 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.

Overview

About

STALK & SPADE appears to be a garden design, landscaping, or horticultural retail/service concept requiring franchisees to establish a storefront or service operation. Franchisees likely manage day-to-day customer service, project fulfillment, inventory (if retail), staff management, and local marketing within their protected territory. Without disclosed revenue data, the operational complexity and profitability remain opaque.

CEO
Steele Smiley
Founded
2020
FDD year
2022
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$767K – $1.3M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$50K – $75K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$65K
Royalty
7.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
9.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
1
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
0%
vs corporate-owned
2020
0+1
Franchised units
2021
0
Franchised units
2022
0
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 3 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 · 3 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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

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

Risk & Legal

79
Risk · 0-100
AVOID79 / 100

STALK & SPADE presents high risk: going concern status, single-unit system, zero disclosed financials, and capital-intensive model create conditions for franchisee loss.

Score breakdown · what drove the 79 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHGoing Concern warning indicates the franchisor may be financially unstable or facing operational viability issues
  2. 02MINOROnly 1 existing unit suggests minimal system track record, no proven replicable model, and extreme difficulty validating performance claims
  3. 03MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (no Item 19) prevents ROI assessment and suggests franchisor cannot or will not demonstrate unit profitability
  4. 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($767K–$1.3M) paired with unproven economics creates severe downside risk
  5. 05MINORUnknown growth trajectory with single unit indicates stagnation or inability to scale; no growth pipeline communicated

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
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
3 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Minnesota

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
14 hrs
On-the-job training
94 hrs

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

4 numbers

Locked
(314) 306-••••
MN
(612) 636-••••
NE
(803) 734-••••
SC

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

STALK & SPADE · FDD (2022) PDF

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