Taziki’s Mediterranean Café Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe is a fast-casual franchise serving Greek and Mediterranean gyros, grilled proteins, and mezze. Franchisees run restaurants managing food prep, counter and dine-in service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Taziki’s Mediterranean Café franchise requires a total initial investment of $567K – $1.2M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $567K – $1.2M
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 100
- 77th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $567K – $1.2M including a $35K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.8M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 83/100 (higher is better).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Taziki's Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Taziki's, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Taziki's Holding Company, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Dan Simpson
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Alabama
- HQ
- 3009 Pump House Road, Suite 200, Birmingham, Alabama 35243
- Auditor
- Warren Averett, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $8.1M
- vs $8.6M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Dan Simpson
- Headquarters
- AL
- Founded
- 2013
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 15
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 34% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $10K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $522K | $1.2M |
| Total initial investment | $567K | $1.2M |
Source: Taziki’s Mediterranean Café 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $567K – $1.2M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $10K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $997 |
| Training fee | $35 |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 59% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$327K
17.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
37%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
33 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Taziki’s Mediterranean Café unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
37%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Taziki’s Mediterranean Café units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
30.0%
3.71× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.69×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$8.5M
on $19.2M purchase
Total debt
$10.8M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.8M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 44
- vs category median 20 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $994K→$3.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.4M→$2.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.9M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Taziki’s Mediterranean Café Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 100
- Opened
- 6
- 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
- 40
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 60%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 10
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 10.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Mediterranean chain with 100 units, strong revenue ($8.6M) and net income ($3.5M), and healthy 16.3% growth. Sole flag is negative franchisor equity (-$480,586), common with distributions/leverage. No litigation, bankruptcy, or going-concern note.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Warren Averett, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 83 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative franchisor net worth -$480,586
- 02MINOROtherwise strong: revenue $8.6M, net income $3.5M, +16.3% growth
- 03HIGHNo litigation, bankruptcy, or going concern
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Territory population | 750,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Alabama |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Training Store in the System
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Square, Inc. Food & Beverage tablet based point of sale system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square, Inc. Food & Beverage tablet based point of sale system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
99 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Taziki’s Mediterranean Café · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Taziki’s Mediterranean Café franchise?
The total investment to open a Taziki’s Mediterranean Café franchise ranges from $567K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Taziki’s Mediterranean Café franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Taziki’s Mediterranean Café FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Taziki’s Mediterranean Café FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Taziki’s Mediterranean Café FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Taziki’s Mediterranean Café's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Taziki’s Mediterranean Café (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 Taziki’s Mediterranean Café franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Taziki’s Mediterranean Café has 100 total units in the United States, including 60 franchised units and 40 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Taziki’s Mediterranean Café a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Taziki’s Mediterranean Café as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 83 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
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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.