StricklandsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Stricklands franchise requires a total initial investment of $340K – $596K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $354K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $340K – $596K
- 65th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $354K
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
At 0.8x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Bottom line
- Total investment $340K – $596K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $354K/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 53/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Strickland’s Marketing Corp.
- Ultimate parent
- Stricklands Frozen Custard, Inc. (owns Proprietary Rights)
- CEO title
- President and Director
- L. Scott Margroff
- CEO experience
- 2006 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- PO Box 1116, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223
- Auditor
- Oles + Associates
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $53K
- vs $118K prior year
Overview
About
Stricklands franchisees operate what appears to be a retail or service-based business model, though specific operations are not detailed in available data. Day-to-day activities likely involve inventory management, customer service, and sales operations within a protected territory. The business model generates reported net income averaging $406,684 annually, though operational specifics and revenue sources remain unclear.
- CEO
- L. Scott Margroff
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Attending Training | $0 | $3K | |
| Architect & Engineer Fees | $14K | $26K | |
| Rent on Real Estate | $15K | $30K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $85K | $200K | |
| Equipment and Furnishings | $165K | $235K | |
| Signs | $6K | $9K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising and Marketing | $3K | — | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $4K | $12K | |
| Opening Inventory | $5K | $9K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $18K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $340K | $593K |
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
$46K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $340K – $596K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $18K – $45K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $354K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 3 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $291K→$418K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Stricklands Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 2
- 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
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 7.7%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +100.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +100.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Stricklands presents significant caution-level risk due to an extremely small unit base, undisclosed revenue metrics, questionable net income figures, and franchisor going concern issues that prevent meaningful due diligence.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Oles + Associates
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 53 / 100 rating
- 01MEDOnly 4 units in system with no historical growth data — extremely small franchise with limited track record and scaling proof
- 02MINORAverage net income of $406,684 appears inflated relative to $339,500-$596,000 investment range — suggests either cherry-picked data or unsustainable margins
- 03MINORNo average revenue disclosure despite net income provided — opacity on top-line performance prevents ROI validation and raises data integrity concerns
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests potential financial instability or viability questions with the franchisor
- 05MEDFranchise fee of only $25,000 with high investment range ($339,500-$596,000) indicates bulk of capital goes to buildout with limited franchisor skin-in-the-game
- 06MINOR100% YoY unit growth mathematically meaningless with 4-unit system — could represent adding 1-2 units; insufficient data to demonstrate system viability
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius/Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 5 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Akron, Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 6 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 34 hrs
- Training location
- Corporate Office & Affiliate Store
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Field support
- 34 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- Clover POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Clover POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
12 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Stricklands · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Stricklands franchise?
The total investment to open a Stricklands franchise ranges from $340K – $596K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Stricklands franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Stricklands FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $354K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Stricklands's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Stricklands (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Stricklands franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Stricklands has 4 total units in the United States, including 2 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 2 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Stricklands a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Stricklands as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 53 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.
For franchisors
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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.