The Counter Custom BurgersFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS franchise requires a total initial investment of $711K – $2.0M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.7M[2]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $711K – $2.0M
- 39th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 11
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
The system contracted 39% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
20 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
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).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 89/100.
- 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
- Legal entity
- MTY Franchising USA, Inc.
- Parent company
- MTY Food Group, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Eric Lefebvre
- CEO experience
- 15 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- TN
- HQ
- 9311 E Via De Ventura, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $580.3M
- vs $597.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
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.
- CEO
- Eric Lefebvre
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2001
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $200K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $626K | $1.7M |
| Total initial investment | $711K | $2.0M |
Source: the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS 2025 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
$300K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
20%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $711K – $2.0M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $200K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $16K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · 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 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $18K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.7M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.4M
- Item 19 type
- Actual
- Sample size
- 8 units
- vs category median 13
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How The Counter Custom Burgers Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 5
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 45.5%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 73%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -38.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -55.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 18.2%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 18.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 36.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 3 states 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.
3
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 8 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 8
- Loan volume
- $7.8M
- Median loan
- $980K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two concluded cases: (1) Purav Enterprises, L.L.C., et al. v. The Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc., et al. (WA Superior Court, Case No. 15-2-15120-7) - settled March 11, 2016 for $20,000 regarding FIPA violations and misrepresentation; (2) KOHO, Inc. v. Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. (CA Superior Court, Case No. BC572565) - breach of contract and unjust enrichment claim with cross-complaint filed
Largest disclosed settlement: $20,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 89 / 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
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 14 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | franchisee_state |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Arizona |
| Litigation count | 20 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two concluded cases: (1) Purav Enterprises, L.L.C., et al. v. The Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc., et al. (WA Superior Court, Case No. 15-2-15120-7) - settled March 11, 2016 for $20,000 regarding FIPA violations and misrepresentation; (2) KOHO, Inc. v. Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. (CA Superior Court, Case No. BC572565) - breach of contract and unjust enrichment claim with cross-complaint filed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 444 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor location
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- MICROS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: MICROS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS franchise?
The total investment to open a the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS franchise ranges from $711K – $2.0M, 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 the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.7M. The median is $2.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS (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 COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS has 11 total units in the United States, including 13 franchised units and 3 company-owned units.
Is the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates the COUNTER CUSTOM BURGERS as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 89 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.