Tommy’s Express Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Tommy's Express is an express tunnel car-wash franchise known for its fast, modern, membership-driven washes. Franchisees own and operate a high-throughput car wash managing equipment, unlimited-wash memberships, and staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tommy’s Express franchise requires a total initial investment of $3.5M – $11.8M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 23 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $3.5M – $11.8M
- 89th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Outlet subset
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 1st pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 260
- 76th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance avg · 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 $3.5M – $11.8M including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 discloses whole-unit Gross Sales (not a per-unit-metric like per-car or per-transaction), so this is a standard whole-business revenue disclosure. EBITDAR percentages (15%-45% depending on tenure cohort) are also disclosed but exclude rent and are not captured as avg_net_income.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 86/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 23 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DATAItem 19 reports historic gross sales by tenure cohort rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Tommy's Express LLC
- Parent company
- Tommy Enterprises, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Alex Lemmen
- Incorporated in
- Michigan
- HQ
- 648 South Point Ridge, Holland, Michigan 49423
- Auditor
- Doeren Mayhew
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $25.7M
- vs $23.0M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Alex Lemmen
- Headquarters
- Michigan
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 30
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 2351% above the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $100K | $500K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $3.3M | $11.3M |
| Total initial investment | $3.5M | $11.8M |
Source: Tommy’s Express 2026 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
- $3.5M – $11.8M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $100K – $500K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $119 |
| Training fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Tommy’s Express did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Tommy’s Express unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
1%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses whole-unit Gross Sales (not a per-unit-metric like per-car or per-transaction), so this is a standard whole-business revenue disclosure. EBITDAR percentages (15%-45% depending on tenure cohort) are also disclosed but exclude rent and are not captured as avg_net_income.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Item 19 type
- historic gross sales by tenure cohort
- Sample size
- 197
- vs category median 32 · large
- Quartile band
- $817K→$2.7M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.0% — below the Cleaning & Maintenance average of 9.7%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports historic gross sales by tenure cohort rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Tommy’s Express Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 260
- Opened
- 46
- 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
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 16
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 46
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 13
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 6
- Franchisor bought back
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 19 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Illinois
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 23
- Loan volume
- $82.8M
- Median loan
- $4.3M
- 50th percentile
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 6.6%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 8111
- Jobs supported
- 361
- 0.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 39%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Tommy’s Express charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Tommy’s Express franchisees
Showing 3 of 10 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 23 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
All three disclosed matters are state regulatory/administrative franchise-registration enforcement actions (not private civil litigation): (1) California DFPI consent order re: CFIL violations, $11,000 penalty; (2) Maryland Securities Commissioner consent order re: 3 unregistered franchise sales (2018, 2021, 2023), $5,000 penalty plus rescission offer; (3) Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce consent order re: franchise sales before registration renewal, $2,000 penalty against franchisor and principal Ryan Essenburg.
Largest disclosed settlement: $11,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Doeren Mayhew
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 86 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR3 state regulatory consent orders (unregistered franchise sales)
- 02HIGHNondisclosure of officer bankruptcy in CA applications
- 03MINORStrong net worth $3.97M, net income $2.98M
- 04MINORAUV $1,436,290, +110% growth
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Michigan (within 15 miles of franchisor's headquarters, Holland, Michigan) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
All three disclosed matters are state regulatory/administrative franchise-registration enforcement actions (not private civil litigation): (1) California DFPI consent order re: CFIL violations, $11,000 penalty; (2) Maryland Securities Commissioner consent order re: 3 unregistered franchise sales (2018, 2021, 2023), $5,000 penalty plus rescission offer; (3) Minnesota Commissioner of Commerce consent order re: franchise sales before registration renewal, $2,000 penalty against franchisor and principal Ryan Essenburg.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 60 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 180 hrs
- Training location
- Holland, Michigan (headquarters) and an operating Tommy's Express business or affiliate-owned car wash
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Tommy’s proprietary point-of-sale system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Tommy’s proprietary point-of-sale system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Tommy’s Express · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Tommy’s Express franchise?
The total investment to open a Tommy’s Express franchise ranges from $3.5M – $11.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Tommy’s Express franchise owners earn?
Tommy’s Express does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Tommy’s Express 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 Tommy’s Express FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tommy’s Express's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Tommy’s Express has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 23 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Tommy’s Express franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tommy’s Express has 260 total units in the United States, including 244 franchised units and 16 company-owned units. 46 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tommy’s Express a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tommy’s Express as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 86 out of 100 (higher is better), 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?
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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.