FranchiseVerdict
TacoTime logo
FV-02543·MODERATEExcellent91

TacoTime

Food & Beverage - Quick ServiceFranchising since 1961Website
Investment
$156K – $824K
26th pct Quick Service
Avg revenue
$860K
19th pct Quick Service
Royalty
Units
99
71st pct Quick Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $156K – $824K including a $30K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $860K/year (median $825K).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 60/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 17 loans (below the industry average).
  • 20 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
MTY Food Group, 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 TacoTime unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $860,131
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: qsr
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $156K–$824K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $5K–$20K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

21%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$103K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$502K
Payback
58 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 TacoTime units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$860K

on $4.3M purchase

Total debt

$3.4M

SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

TacoTime franchisees operate quick-service Mexican food restaurants, managing daily operations including food preparation, customer service, inventory management, and staff oversight. They handle POS systems, maintain brand standards, and manage local marketing while paying royalties based on gross sales or a weekly minimum fee to the franchisor.

CEO
Eric Lefebvre
Founded
2008
FDD year
2025
States available
10

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$156K – $824K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$5K – $20K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
greater of 6% of Gross Sales or $400 per week
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
10.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$860K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$825K
Item 19 type
Average and Median Gross Sales
Sample size
94 units
vs category median 37 · large
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank19th
vs Food & Beverage - Quick Service peers
Investment cost rank26th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank84th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank71th
vs Food & Beverage - Quick Service peers
Risk score rank42th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
99
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
2
Turnover rate
2.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
98%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-2.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-7.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
97-1
Franchised units
2024
99
Franchised units
2025
105
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
17
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

60
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE60 / 100

TacoTime presents high investment risk with a contracting franchise system, unresolved litigation history, undisclosed profitability metrics, and an aggressive royalty floor that may exceed cash flow on underperforming units.

Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (99 units, -2.0% YoY) indicates system contraction and weakening franchisee demand
  2. 02HIGHMultiple concluded litigations involving breach of contract and misrepresentation suggest franchisor credibility and operational integrity issues
  3. 03MINORNo average net income disclosure prevents assessment of actual profitability despite $860K average revenue
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory creates cannibalization risk and franchisee competition within same market
  5. 05MEDDual royalty structure (6% or $400/week minimum) heavily burdens lower-revenue locations and provides limited upside protection
  6. 06HIGHGoing Concern flag is FALSE but litigation history raises questions about financial stability and long-term viability

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
20
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
120 hrs

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

17 numbers

Locked
(401) 462-••••
RI
(480) 362-••••
AZ
(540) 431-••••
VA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

TacoTime · FDD (2025) PDF

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