Summer Moon Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Summer Moon is a coffee franchise known for wood-fired roasted coffee and its signature Moon Milk sweet cream. Franchisees run the cafes, managing baristas, roasted coffee retail, and counter service.
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]. The 2024 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 30 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $616K – $1.0M
- 84th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 36
- 60th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $616K – $1.0M 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 A (Strongest tier), verdict score 80/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 30 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 225.0% CAGR over 3 years with 36 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Summer Moon Franchising LLC
- Parent company
- SUMMER MOON Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Coffee Unplugged, LLC
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- Texas
- 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
- CEO
- John Tarbox
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 11
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 26% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $616K – $1.0M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category 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 |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Summer Moon did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Summer Moon unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
14%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Median gross sales
- $838K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
No system-wide average is published for this brand. The median and range below are what Item 19 supports; we show an average only where it reconciles against them.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 13 outlets
- vs category median 20
- Range (low → high)
- $571K→$1.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 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 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
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 expanding at 225.0% CAGR over 3 years across 36 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
Only 6% 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 averages
How Summer Moon Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
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 (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 12
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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
- Typical loan rate
- 7.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- Jobs supported
- N/A
- Lender concentration
- 17%
- top lender's share
Vintage analysis
Summer Moon charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Summer Moon franchisees
Showing 3 of 13 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Summer Moon's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 8 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 30 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
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 80 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORThin franchisor equity $139,165
- 02MINORRapid growth +225%
- 03MINORClean legal flags, audited, Item 19, strong AUV $924,461
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 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
23 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?
Summer Moon does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Summer Moon 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 Summer Moon FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 26 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 verdict score of 80 out of 100 (higher is better), 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Summer Moon, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.