The Driveway Company Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $89K – $169K
- Disclosed sales
- $263K
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (7)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
The Driveway Company is a home services franchise that installs, repairs, and levels concrete and asphalt driveways. Franchisees run local operations, managing estimates, crews, and residential and commercial accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY franchise requires a total initial investment of $89K – $169K, including a $40K – $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2022 FDD, average revenue per franchisee was $263K. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above 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: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $89K – $169K
- 26th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $263K
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 48th pct Home Services
- Units
- 36
- 37th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services 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 $89K – $169K including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per franchisee of $263K/year. Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +12 franchised outlets in the latest year (13 opened, 1 closed); 7 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 300.0% CAGR over 3 years with 36 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- TDC Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Restoration 1 Franchise Holdings, LLC (direct); TDC Holdings, LLC and Stellar Brands, LLC (indirect)
- Ultimate parent
- Stellar Brands, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Sherry Rose
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Texas
- HQ
- 5113 Steinbeck Bend Drive, Waco, Texas 76708
- Auditor
- Jaynes Reitmeier Boyd & Therrell, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $422K
- vs $192K prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1
1 other brand on this site name Stellar Brands, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2022 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Sherry Rose
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 11
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 23% below the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60K | $60K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $11K | $21K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $18K | $88K |
| Total initial investment | $89K | $169K |
Source: THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY 2022 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
- $89K – $169K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $11K – $21K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $450 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $11K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 55% below the home services norm.
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$145K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY 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 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.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
- Avg gross sales
- $263K
- Per franchisee, per year — not per outlet
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical gross sales and gross profit, per-franchisee basis, subset breakdowns by number of outlets operated
- Sample size
- 12 franchisees
- vs category median 32 · small
- Reporting year
- 2021
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2022
- Disclosed in the 2022 filing, covering 2021
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average franchisee generates $263K/year in gross sales.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Home Services median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 300.0% CAGR over 3 years across 36 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Multi-unit rate
50% of franchisees own multiple units, a moderate multi-unit rate.
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 Home Services medians
How The Driveway Company Compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Home Services 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 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 36
- Opened
- 13
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 1
- Not renewed
- 0
- Signed, not yet open
- 7
- 0.19 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 28
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 2.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 2.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 8.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
34 current owners across 17 states.
- TX 10
- NC 5
- GA 3
- CA 2
- SC 2
- AK 1
- AL 1
- CT 1
- FL 1
- IA 1
- IL 1
- KY 1
- +5 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $926K
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (7)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 7 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (7)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (7)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 2
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
36-unit driveway franchisor, audited with Item 19, strong +300% net growth. No bankruptcy, going-concern, or distress. Only matter is an old 2014 Virginia registration-lapse settlement against a predecessor affiliate ($1,000 cost, remediated).
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
Commonwealth of Virginia, ex rel. State Corporation Commission v. Restoration 1 Franchise Holding, LLC and Andor Kovacs (Case No. SEC-2014-00028). Settled July 16, 2014. Allegation: offered and sold franchise in Virginia after registration lapsed. Settlement terms: $1,000 payment to Virginia, attendance at franchise sales compliance training, agreement not to violate Virginia Retail Franchise Act.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Jaynes Reitmeier Boyd & Therrell, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total franchisor revenues FY2021: $421,564; of which $90,828 (21.55%) derived from franchisee purchases/leases from designated/approved suppliers (including $84,428 technology fees and $6,400 rebates).
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROld 2014 predecessor registration settlement — remediated
- 02MINORNo bankruptcy/going-concern/distress
- 03MINORNet growth +300%, 36 units
- 04MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Commonwealth of Virginia, ex rel. State Corporation Commission v. Restoration 1 Franchise Holding, LLC and Andor Kovacs (Case No. SEC-2014-00028). Settled July 16, 2014. Allegation: offered and sold franchise in Virginia after registration lapsed. Settlement terms: $1,000 payment to Virginia, attendance at franchise sales compliance training, agreement not to violate Virginia Retail Franchise Act.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 28 hrs
- Training location
- Waco, Texas or Atlanta, Georgia
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 28 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- House Call Pro
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: House Call Pro
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
34 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 THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY franchise?
The total investment to open a THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY franchise ranges from $89K – $169K, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $263K. Important context: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY?
THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY is franchised by TDC Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Restoration 1 Franchise Holdings, LLC (direct); TDC Holdings, LLC and Stellar Brands, LLC (indirect). The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Stellar Brands, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY 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 THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY (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 DRIVEWAY COMPANY franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY has 36 total units in the United States, including 36 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 13 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates THE DRIVEWAY COMPANY as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 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.