SurcherosFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Surcheros franchise requires a total initial investment of $301K – $1.8M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.7M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 20.0% charge-off rate across 13 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $301K – $1.8M
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.7M
- 18th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 35
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 20.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
20.0% of SBA loans charged off across 13 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 17 to 15 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
30% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDAR). Above the 20% threshold most investors target.
Bottom line
- Total investment $301K – $1.8M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.7M/year (median $1.7M), with an estimated 30% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDAR).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 20.0% across 13 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- No protected territory and the franchisor reserves the right to compete in your area. Clarify territorial boundaries before signing.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Surcheros Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Surcheros Holding Company, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- LNC Holding Company, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Founder
- Luke Christian
- CEO experience
- 2015 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3440 Preston Ridge Road, Suite 450, Alpharetta, GA 30005
- Auditor
- Symphona LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.6M
- vs $2.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Surcheros franchisees operate fast-casual Mexican/ceviche concept locations, managing counter service operations, inventory, food preparation oversight, and daily P&L. Franchisees handle hiring, scheduling, local marketing, and customer experience while paying 5% royalties on gross sales to corporate.
- CEO
- Luke Christian
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $256K | $1.7M |
| Total initial investment | $301K | $1.8M |
Source: Surcheros 2025 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
$199K
11.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $301K – $1.8M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.3 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.7M
- Avg ebitdar
- $313K
- Reported as EBITDAR in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 30.3%
- Based on EBITDAR / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 25 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $902K→$2.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $954K→$2.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Surcheros Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 35
- Opened
- 4
- 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
- 18
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 49%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +13.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +13.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 13
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 89.5%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 13
- Loan volume
- $15.0M
- Median loan
- $1.2M
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 20.0%
- 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
- 4
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
A 20.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 5 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Surcheros presents caution-level risk due to unprotected territories, corporate going concern issues, and limited system scale, though unit growth and reasonable profitability metrics provide moderate upside.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Symphona LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization between franchisees
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability at corporate level
- 03MINORWide investment range ($301K-$1.76M) suggests inconsistent unit economics or unclear cost structure
- 04MINORModest unit growth (13.3% YoY) on small base (35 units) lacks scale confidence
- 05HIGHNo disclosed litigation but unprotected territory increases franchisee conflict likelihood
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 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 18 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 222 hrs
- POS system
- FOCUS POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: FOCUS POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Surcheros · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Surcheros franchise?
The total investment to open a Surcheros franchise ranges from $301K – $1.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Surcheros franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Surcheros FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.7M. The median is $1.7M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Surcheros's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Surcheros has a charge-off rate of 20.0% across 13 loans, meaning 20.0% 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 Surcheros franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Surcheros has 35 total units in the United States, including 17 franchised units and 18 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Surcheros a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Surcheros as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 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.
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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.