Stricklands Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $340K – $596K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Stricklands is a dessert franchise serving fresh homemade frozen custard and ice cream. Franchisees run the shops, managing product prep, staffing, and counter service.
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]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ 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 scored5 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $340K – $596K
- 55th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $340K – $596K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 53/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +2 franchised outlets in the latest year (2 opened, 0 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Strickland's Marketing Corp.
- Ultimate parent
- Stricklands Frozen Custard, Inc. (owns Proprietary Rights)
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- President
- L. Scott Margroff
- CEO experience
- 2006 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- Ohio
- HQ
- PO Box 1116, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223
- Auditor
- Oles + Associates
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $118K
- vs $53K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- L. Scott Margroff
- Headquarters
- OH
- Founded
- 1936
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about typical for a quick-service restaurants franchise (near the category median).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown11 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $340K – $596K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $18K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 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 |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Stricklands is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Stricklands unit return on the cash you put in?
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.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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
Financial Performance
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 3
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $291K→$418KCited, not corroborated — printed on page 38 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
System shrank 50.0% over 3 years. Ask existing franchisees about local market conditions.
Multi-unit rate
Only 8% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Stricklands Compares
Category median of published Quick-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.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 7.7%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -50.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +100.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.25 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Very small system (4 franchised units) with thin financials: $117,895 revenue and only $1,973 net income, though net worth is positive at $102,812. No litigation, bankruptcy, or going-concern note; audited and Item 19 disclosed. Single minor concern is the thin/weak financials and small scale.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
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)
Franchisor total revenue for FY2024 was $117,895 (royalty revenue $67,895 + franchise fee revenue $50,000)
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 verdict
- 01MINORThin financials: $117,895 revenue, $1,973 net income
- 02HIGHNo litigation, bankruptcy, or going-concern
- 03MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Radius/Area |
| 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
- Site selection
- franchisee, subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Clover POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Clover POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
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?
Item 19 of the Stricklands FDD discloses outlet figures from $291K to $418K but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Stricklands?
Stricklands is franchised by Strickland's Marketing Corp.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Stricklands Frozen Custard, Inc. (owns Proprietary Rights). Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Stricklands 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 Stricklands FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 4 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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 53 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
Are you the franchisor?
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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.