Summer MoonFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Summer Moon franchise requires a total initial investment of $616K – $1.0M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 30 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $616K – $1.0M
- 87th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 36
- 57th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
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
Only 0.0% of 30 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
The system grew 73% year-over-year. Fast growth means demand, but can strain support.
Bottom line
- Total investment $616K – $1.0M including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.2M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 5/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 30 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 225.0% CAGR over 3 years with 36 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Summer Moon Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- SUMMER MOON Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Coffee Unplugged, LLC
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 1800 Elder Hill Road, Driftwood, Texas 78619
- Auditor
- Henry & Peters, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $658K
- vs $1.1M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Summer Moon franchisees operate specialty coffee retail locations, likely focused on iced coffee drinks and seasonal beverages. Day-to-day operations include customer service, beverage preparation, inventory management, staffing, and local marketing within their protected territory.
- CEO
- John Tarbox
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2004
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 11
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $40K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $551K | $967K |
| Total initial investment | $616K | $1.0M |
Source: Summer Moon 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$185K
16.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $616K – $1.0M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $50K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Training fee | $20K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 22 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $571K→$1.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $762K→$1.3M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 0 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Summer Moon Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 36
- Opened
- 12
- 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
- 10
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 72%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 5.6%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +73.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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.
- Total loans
- 30
- Loan volume
- $16.8M
- Median loan
- $561K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 30 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage franchise with explosive unit growth but opaque financials, franchisor going concern issues, and no Item 19 data to validate investment ROI.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Henry & Peters, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 5 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue/net income not provided) — impossible to validate ROI claims
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is False, indicating potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 03MINORExtremely high unit growth (73.3% YoY) suggests either aggressive recruitment or system instability; unsustainable growth can precede contraction
- 04MEDInvestment range of $616k-$1.04M is substantial with no disclosed profitability benchmarks to justify the cost
- 05MEDOnly 36 total units is a very small system with limited track record and operational data
- 06MED6% royalty on undisclosed revenue makes it difficult to model actual franchisee cash flow
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| 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 | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 45 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 2 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 104 hrs
- Training location
- franchisor facility and on-site
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
24 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Summer Moon · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Summer Moon franchise?
The total investment to open a Summer Moon franchise ranges from $616K – $1.0M, 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 Summer Moon franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Summer Moon FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Summer Moon's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Summer Moon has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 30 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Summer Moon franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Summer Moon has 36 total units in the United States, including 8 franchised units and 10 company-owned units. 12 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Summer Moon a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Summer Moon as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 5 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.