Steak Escape Sandwich Grill
Formerly known as Escape Room
Bottom line
- Total investment $240K – $829K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 74/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -2080% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 Steak Escape Sandwich Grill unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
19%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Steak Escape operates fast-casual sandwich and grill restaurants focused on steak-based sandwiches and grilled items. Franchisees manage daily food preparation, counter service, inventory control, staffing, and marketing within a quick-service restaurant model. The business model targets lunch and casual dinner dayparts with a menu-driven format.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 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
Steak Escape exhibits multiple critical distress signals: collapsing unit count, going concern status, active franchisor-franchisee litigation, and zero financial transparency, making this a high-risk turnaround play unsuitable for most franchisees.
Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count collapsed 17.4% year-over-year (23 units remaining), indicating severe system contraction and franchisee failure rate
- 02HIGHGoing Concern designation = franchisor questioned ability to continue operations, suggesting financial distress at corporate level
- 03HIGHActive litigation (2022) by franchisor against franchisees for royalty collection indicates cash flow desperation and potential franchisor-franchisee conflict
- 04MINORNo financial disclosure (Item 19): no average unit volumes, net income, or profitability data provided—impossible to model ROI
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates cannibalization risk; franchisor could open competing units nearby without restriction
- 06MINORWide investment range ($239.5K–$828.5K) with no clarity on what drives variance—suggests hidden costs or inconsistent support
- 07MINOR6% royalty on unknown revenue base is unquantifiable; combined with declining units, suggests royalty collection is strained
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
6 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Steak Escape Sandwich Grill · FDD (2025) PDF