Taffer’s TavernFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Taffer’s Tavern franchise requires a total initial investment of $812K – $1.4M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.0M[2]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $812K – $1.4M
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.0M
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
The system contracted 75% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $812K – $1.4M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.0M/year.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 88/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- PREMIER TAVERNS LLC
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 755 Schneider Drive, South Elgin, Illinois 60177
- Auditor
- DNJ Consulting Inc. dba DNJ & ASSOCIATES
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $983K
- vs $410K prior year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Affiliated brands
- Jon Taffer
- Craveworthy
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual bar/tavern locations featuring food and beverages, typically leveraging Jon Taffer's brand recognition and operational expertise. Day-to-day responsibilities include managing staff, inventory, food/beverage service, marketing, and customer experience in a full-service hospitality environment.
- CEO
- Jon Taffer
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $50K | $50K | |
| Delayed Opening Feenot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Leasehold Improvements & Construction Costnot refundable | $210K | $415K | |
| Licenses and Permits (Not Including a Liquor License)not refundable | $10K | $15K | |
| Rent - 3 monthsnot refundable | $0 | $60K | |
| Security Deposits | $5K | $25K | |
| Blueprintsnot refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Furnishings, Fixtures & Equipmentnot refundable | $330K | $425K | |
| Signage - Interior and Exteriornot refundable | $12K | $40K | |
| Computer Systemnot refundable | $9K | $12K | |
| Travel & Living Expenses While Trainingnot refundable | $0 | $15K | |
| Insurance - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising Campaignnot refundable | $10K | $25K | |
| Opening Inventory & Suppliesnot refundable | $65K | $80K | |
| On-Site Location Evaluationnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Audio/Visual Systemnot refundable | $25K | $50K | |
| Ancillary Real Estate Costsnot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $65K | $85K | |
| Total initial investment | $812K | $1.4M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$298K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
26%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $812K – $1.4M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $65K – $85K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $65K – $80K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $3.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Taffer’s Tavern Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- N/A
- Turnover rate
- 300% (!)
- Closures exceed total units. See FDD Item 20
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -75.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -50.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 25.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Illinois
- Michigan
- New York
- Virginia
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Taffer's Tavern presents extreme risk due to 75% unit collapse, active fraud litigation against affiliate brands, undisclosed profitability, and going concern warnings—suggesting a failing franchise system with potential structural or management problems.
Litigation (Item 3)
3 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DNJ Consulting Inc. dba DNJ & ASSOCIATES⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 88 / 100 rating
- 01MEDCatastrophic unit decline of 75% year-over-year indicates systemic franchise failure or mass closures
- 02HIGHTwo active litigation cases involving affiliate brands alleging fraudulent misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement suggest legal/operational issues within corporate structure
- 03MINORNo net income disclosure despite $2.97M average revenue raises transparency concerns and suggests potential unprofitability at unit level
- 04HIGHGoing concern warning indicates material uncertainty about franchisor's ability to continue operations
- 05MINORNo protected territory combined with high initial investment ($812K-$1.35M) exposes franchisees to cannibalization risk
- 06MED6% royalty on gross sales (not net) compounds risk if units are unprofitable as disclosed revenues suggest
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nevada |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
3 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 49 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 42 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Shift4Payments & POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Shift4Payments & POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Taffer’s Tavern · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Taffer’s Tavern franchise?
The total investment to open a Taffer’s Tavern franchise ranges from $812K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Taffer’s Tavern franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Taffer’s Tavern FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Taffer’s Tavern's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Taffer’s Tavern (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Taffer’s Tavern franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Taffer’s Tavern has 1 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Taffer’s Tavern a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Taffer’s Tavern as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 88 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.