FranchiseVerdict
Surf City Squeeze logo
FV-02515·MODERATEExcellent81

Surf City Squeeze

Food & Beverage - Juice & SmoothiesFranchising since 1994Website
Investment
$69K – $390K
0th pct Juice & Smoot…
Avg revenue
38th pct Juice & Smoot…
Royalty
Units
63
67th pct Juice & Smoot…
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $69K – $390K including a $30K franchise fee.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 29 loans (below the industry average).
  • 15 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3 — higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Kahala Franchising, L.L.C.
Parent company
Kahala Brands, Inc.
Incorporated in
Arizona
HQ
9311 E. Via De Ventura, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
Auditor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$606.6M
vs $597.5M prior year

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 Surf City Squeeze unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $69K–$390K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

34%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$83K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$240K
Payback
35 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fresh juice and smoothie bars, typically in retail locations or kiosks, managing point-of-sale operations, inventory procurement, staff scheduling, and customer service. Day-to-day activities include preparing blended beverages, managing perishable inventory with tight rotation cycles, maintaining equipment, and driving foot traffic through local marketing.

CEO
Eric Lefebvre
Founded
2008
FDD year
2025
States available
15

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$69K – $390K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
greater of 6% of total weekly Gross Sales or $300 per week
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
63
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
3.2%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-3.1%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-10.1%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
62-2
Franchised units
2024
64
Franchised units
2025
69
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 12 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 12 states
Not registered

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.

Total loans
29
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

Surf City Squeeze presents high risk due to contracting unit base, undisclosed financials, substantial litigation history, and aggressive fee structure with minimal territory protection.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORUnit count declining 3.1% YoY (63 units) suggests system contraction and weakening franchisee performance
  2. 02MINORNo Item 19 (average revenue/net income) disclosure prevents validation of unit economics and ROI claims
  3. 03HIGHExtensive litigation history across franchisor's portfolio including 2024 breach of contract lawsuits against franchisees signals franchisor-franchisee relationship deterioration
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk within same market; aggressive royalty floor ($300/week minimum) may not align with declining unit health
  5. 05MEDHigh investment ceiling ($390k) relative to undisclosed profitability creates significant downside exposure with no transparent exit data

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
15
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Arizona

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
40 hrs
On-the-job training
40 hrs
POS system
FOCUS POS System
Operating tech stack

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

28 numbers

Locked
(708) 642-••••
IL
(208) 466-••••
ID
(973) 691-••••
NJ

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Surf City Squeeze · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above