The Flying Biscuit CafeFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A The Flying Biscuit Cafe franchise requires a total initial investment of $767K – $1.2M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $767K – $1.2M
- 40th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 20th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 35
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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 franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $767K – $1.2M including a $45K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.9M/year.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 56/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Flying Biscuit Franchising, Inc.
- CEO title
- President
- Daryl Dollinger
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 6090 Roswell Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- Burns Herring, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.5M
- vs $4.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual-dining breakfast and brunch-focused cafes serving made-from-scratch biscuits, sandwiches, and coffee. Daily operations include kitchen management, staff scheduling, inventory control, and customer service across a limited-service or full-service model with average unit volumes of ~$1.87M annually.
- CEO
- Daryl Dollinger
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 6
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $692K | $1.1M |
| Total initial investment | $767K | $1.2M |
Source: The Flying Biscuit Cafe 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
$206K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $767K – $1.2M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $23K |
| Renewal fee | $45K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 30 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $1.3M→$3.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.4M→$2.6M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How The Flying Biscuit Cafe Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 35
- 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
- 8
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 77%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +3.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +28.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 2.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 21
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- 0
- 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
Modest growth, historical litigation, and missing profitability disclosure create moderate-to-caution risk; requires detailed franchisee validation before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Adversary Proceeding No. 12-05429 filed August 24, 2012 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Northern District of Georgia. Bankruptcy Trustee sued franchisor's affiliates, officers, and directors alleging fraudulent transfers, constructively fraudulent transfers, and wrongful distributions related to sale of S&Q Shack, LLC to Edmonds Capital Fund I, LLC. Claims included improper debt forgiveness and distribution of sale proceeds. Proceeding stayed pending completion of underlying bankruptcy litigation.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Burns Herring, LLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — unable to validate profitability claims against $1.87M average revenue
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 3.8% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee satisfaction concerns
- 03HIGHSignificant litigation history (2012-2017) involving fraudulent transfer and fiduciary duty claims against parent company and officers raises governance red flags
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($767K-$1.17M) combined with undisclosed net margins creates unclear ROI timeline
- 05MINOR5% royalty on gross sales (not net) compounds pressure when profitability data is absent
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1.5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | office of the American Arbitration Association closest to our principal executive office |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Adversary Proceeding No. 12-05429 filed August 24, 2012 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Northern District of Georgia. Bankruptcy Trustee sued franchisor's affiliates, officers, and directors alleging fraudulent transfers, constructively fraudulent transfers, and wrongful distributions related to sale of S&Q Shack, LLC to Edmonds Capital Fund I, LLC. Claims included improper debt forgiveness and distribution of sale proceeds. Proceeding stayed pending completion of underlying bankruptcy litigation.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 350 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Postec, Inc. / MICROS / MyMicros.net
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Postec, Inc. / MICROS / MyMicros.net
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
4 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
The Flying Biscuit Cafe · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a The Flying Biscuit Cafe franchise?
The total investment to open a The Flying Biscuit Cafe franchise ranges from $767K – $1.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do The Flying Biscuit Cafe franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the The Flying Biscuit Cafe FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is The Flying Biscuit Cafe's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for The Flying Biscuit Cafe (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 Flying Biscuit Cafe franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, The Flying Biscuit Cafe has 35 total units in the United States, including 21 franchised units and 8 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is The Flying Biscuit Cafe a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates The Flying Biscuit Cafe as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 56 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent The Flying Biscuit Cafe, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Full-Service Restaurants category
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.