TFS Burger Works Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $265K – $389K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
TFS Burger Works is a quick-service franchise serving burgers, fries, and shakes. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TFS Burger Works franchise requires a total initial investment of $265K – $389K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $265K – $389K
- 40th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=2
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 90th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2
- 9th 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 median · 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 $265K – $389K including a $50K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports company owned only rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 33/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports company owned only rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- TFS Franchise Works LLC
- CEO title
- Founder
- Nick Hill
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 243 RT 9W, Palisades, NY 10964
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Nick Hill
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 33% below 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 | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $185K | $289K |
| Total initial investment | $265K | $389K |
Source: TFS Burger Works 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
- $265K – $389K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $5K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for TFS Burger Works is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one TFS Burger Works unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a sample of only 2
- Item 19 type
- company owned only
- Sample size
- 2
- vs category median 19 · small
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports company owned only rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 medians
How TFS Burger Works Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Transferred
- 0
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
Extremely early-stage burger concept with only 2 operating units, hidden profitability data, and unproven growth model presents significant venture risk despite protected territory.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Figures from the audited financial statements of TFS Franchise Works, LLC (the franchisor), a New York LLC formed Dec 1, 2023; Statements of Operations for year ended Dec 31, 2024 (yr1) and the period Dec 1, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023 (yr2). Total Revenues were $0 in both periods (the entity was a startup with no operating revenue); net losses were $(43,339) in 2024 and $(16,436) in 2023. Balance sheet at Dec 31, 2024 reconciles: Total Assets $10,000 = Total Liabilities $0 + Total Members' Equity $10,000. Not in thousands; whole US dollars.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 33 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDOnly 2 existing units with unknown growth trajectory indicates extremely limited system track record and validation
- 02MEDNet income deliberately not disclosed in FDD Item 19 prevents realistic ROI analysis on $265k-$389k investment
- 03MINOR7% royalty rate on $833k average revenue ($58k annual) is heavy burden when profitability metrics are hidden
- 04MINORTiny franchisee base (2 units) creates high risk of system collapse and insufficient peer support network
- 05MEDNo disclosed litigation but micro-scale prevents meaningful legal pattern analysis
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 10 mi |
| Territory population | 250,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Rockland, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | NY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 160 hrs
- Training location
- Rockland County, New York and the Franchised Business Site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Toast, SpotOn, or Margin Edge Inventory
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast, SpotOn, or Margin Edge Inventory
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a TFS Burger Works franchise?
The total investment to open a TFS Burger Works franchise ranges from $265K – $389K, 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 TFS Burger Works franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the TFS Burger Works FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns TFS Burger Works?
TFS Burger Works is franchised by TFS Franchise Works LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the TFS Burger Works 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 TFS Burger Works FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is TFS Burger Works's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for TFS Burger Works (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 TFS Burger Works franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TFS Burger Works has 2 total units in the United States.
Is TFS Burger Works a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TFS Burger Works as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 33 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.