The Counter Custom Burgers
Bottom line
- Total investment $711K – $2.0M including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.7M/year (median $2.4M).
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 73/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 8 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 the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
30%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
27.3%
3.35× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.99×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$12.2M
on $24.6M purchase
Total debt
$12.4M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
THE COUNTER is a build-your-own burger customization concept where franchisees operate quick-service restaurants managing inventory, kitchen operations, and customer-facing service for premium custom burgers. Day-to-day responsibilities include staff management, food cost control, local marketing, and maintaining brand consistency while navigating a 6% royalty structure on gross sales.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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
COUNTER faces existential risk with a collapsing franchise system, undisclosed profitability, going concern issues, and a pattern of litigation suggesting operational and compliance failures.
Score breakdown · what drove the 73 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSystem collapsed 38.5% YoY (11 units remaining) — severe unit attrition signals fundamental business model or support failure
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False indicates franchisor financial distress and potential inability to support franchisees
- 03HIGHMultiple litigation claims including breach of contract and misrepresentation by former franchisees suggest systemic disputes
- 04MEDNet Income not disclosed — unable to assess actual profitability; combined with declining units suggests franchisees are struggling
- 05MINORFranchise registration and disclosure violations by predecessors/affiliates indicates compliance and governance issues
- 06MINOR6% royalty on $2.73M avg revenue = ~$163,800 annual royalty burden on top of $711K-$1.98M initial investment
- 07MINOR11 remaining units insufficient to validate unit economics or franchise model sustainability
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
12 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS · FDD (2025) PDF