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). Estimated payback in 3.3 years.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 47/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 22 loans (below the industry average).
- 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
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Surcheros unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
27%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Surcheros units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
32.4%
4.07× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.49×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$6.5M
on $16.5M purchase
Total debt
$9.9M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 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
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
24 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Surcheros · FDD (2025) PDF