Bottom line
- Total investment $360K – $950K including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 77/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 12 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
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 Thai Express unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
14%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Thai Express franchisees operate quick-service Thai restaurants featuring noodle dishes, curries, rice bowls, and Asian fusion items. Day-to-day operations include managing front-of-house service, food preparation, inventory management, staffing, and local marketing in a QSR format. Franchisees are responsible for all lease, labor, and operating costs while paying 6% royalties to the franchisor.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
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
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 33 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 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.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Thai Express presents extreme risk due to rapid unit collapse, going concern status, extensive franchisor litigation, absent financial disclosures, and questionable viability of parent company (Kahala).
Score breakdown · what drove the 77 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSevere unit decline of 28.6% YoY (from ~8.4 to 6 units) indicates system collapse
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — franchisor financial viability is questioned
- 03HIGHExtensive litigation history across multiple related brands (Kahala portfolio) involving breach of contract, misrepresentation, and registration violations
- 04MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure — inability or unwillingness to provide Unit 19 data is major red flag
- 05MINORHigh investment range ($360K–$950K) with unproven return potential and no performance benchmarks
- 06MINORNo protected territory — franchisees face direct competition from other Thai Express locations and brand partners
- 07MED6% royalty on undisclosed revenue creates uncertainty about actual take-home profitability
- 08MINORMultiple state administrative actions suggest systemic compliance and disclosure failures by franchisor
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
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
48 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Thai Express · FDD (2025) PDF