The Bagel NookFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Bagel Nook franchise requires a total initial investment of $603K – $1.2M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $603K – $1.2M
- 87th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 47th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Franchised units fell from 3 to 1 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $603K – $1.2M including a $30K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 34/100.
- Revenue data based on only 2 reporting units. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- THE BAGEL NOOK FRANCHISING LLC
- Ultimate parent
- THE BAGEL NOOK, LLC
- CEO title
- President
- David Berkowitz
- CEO experience
- 1 yr
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 44 Crocus Drive, Manalapan, NJ 07726
- Auditor
- Frendel, Brown & Weissman LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $143K
- vs $225K prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service bagel shops, managing food preparation, customer service, inventory, and staff scheduling. Daily operations involve baking/toasting bagels, preparing breakfast/lunch items, managing point-of-sale systems, and maintaining health/safety compliance in a small retail footprint.
- CEO
- David Berkowitz
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $548K | $1.1M |
| Total initial investment | $603K | $1.2M |
Source: The Bagel Nook 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$225K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
25%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $603K – $1.2M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $25K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.4M→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How The Bagel Nook Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 75%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 25.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +50.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +200.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
The Bagel Nook presents CAUTION-level risk: a micro-franchise with unproven economics (no Item 19), franchisor financial concerns (going concern=false), and insufficient unit density to validate the business model.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Frendel, Brown & Weissman LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 34 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation despite $1.5M average revenue claim
- 02MINOROnly 4 units in system with 50% YoY growth indicates extremely early-stage franchise with unproven model
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial instability at franchisor level
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($603K-$1.16M) with 6% royalty requires $90K+ annual revenue just to break even on fees
- 05MINOR5-year term is shorter than industry standard (10 years typical), limiting franchisee ROI window
- 06HIGHLack of litigation disclosure combined with going concern flag raises transparency concerns
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 4 |
| Territory type | Boundary based on demographics and zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- franchisor location and franchisee premises
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Clover POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Clover POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Bagel Nook · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Bagel Nook franchise?
The total investment to open a The Bagel Nook franchise ranges from $603K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Bagel Nook franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Bagel Nook FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Bagel Nook's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Bagel Nook (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 The Bagel Nook franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Bagel Nook has 4 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Bagel Nook a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Bagel Nook as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 34 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.