True RESTFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A True REST franchise requires a total initial investment of $415K – $1.1M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $398K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 8.3% charge-off rate across 24 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $415K – $1.1M
- 37th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- $398K
- 8th pct Personal Care…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 9th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 44
- 26th pct Personal Care…
- SBA default
- 8.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Personal Care & Beauty 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
At 0.5x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Bottom line
- Total investment $415K – $1.1M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $398K/year (median $452K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 65/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 8.3% across 24 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 29.0% CAGR over 3 years with 44 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- True REST Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- James W. Rowe
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- AZ
- HQ
- 1001 B Avenue, Suite 102, Coronado, California 92118
- Auditor
- Considine & Considine
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.4M
- vs $2.3M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
True REST franchisees operate float tank and wellness spa facilities offering sensory deprivation flotation therapy, massage, and related relaxation services. Day-to-day operations include managing float tank maintenance, scheduling customer appointments, staffing massage therapists, maintaining facility cleanliness and HVAC systems, and handling retail wellness product sales.
- CEO
- James W. Rowe
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 17
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $500 | $1K | |
| Real Estate/Lease (3 months + deposit) | $20K | $56K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $194K | $600K | |
| Architectural Fees | $8K | $25K | |
| Float Podsnot refundable | $120K | $240K | |
| Float Pod Shipping Costs | $8K | $15K | |
| Initial Inventory of Salt and Related Misc. Expenses | $3K | $7K | |
| Signage | $3K | $15K | |
| Insurance | $450 | $3K | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $1K | |
| Business License and Permits | $0 | $175 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Related Supplies | $12K | $20K | |
| Computer System | $2K | $3K | |
| Code/Field Inspections | $0 | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $0 | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $5K | $35K | |
| Development Fee (Multi-Unit Development Agreement)not refundable | $64K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $478K | $1.2M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
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
$88K
22.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
11%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $415K – $1.1M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $550 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $398K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $452K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 38 units
- vs category median 35
- Range (low → high)
- $123K→$886K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $229K→$588K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 186 Personal Care & Beauty brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Personal Care & Beauty averages
How True REST Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 44
- Opened
- 4
- 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
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 91%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.1%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +29.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 15 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
- 24
- Loan volume
- $9.5M
- Median loan
- $402K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 8.3%
- 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)
- 91.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 50.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 12
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into True REST's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 9 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
True REST presents extreme investment risk with a fundamentally broken unit economics model, going concern warning, and profitability that suggests franchisees are operating at near-total loss despite moderate revenue.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Largest disclosed settlement: $239,600
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Considine & Considine
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating
- 01MINORCatastrophic profitability crisis: Average net income of only $269 on $397,787 revenue (0.07% net margin) indicates systemic business model failure
- 02HIGHGoing Concern warning from franchisor suggests financial instability and potential system collapse risk
- 03MINORMassive investment-to-profit ratio: $414,547 minimum investment requires 1,540+ years to break even at current profitability levels
- 04MEDSlow unit growth (11.1% YoY) with only 44 locations indicates limited scalability and market traction
- 05MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosures (Avg Revenue/Net Income appear unverified or worst-case scenarios)
- 06MINORHigh franchise fee ($39,950) relative to franchisee profitability suggests franchisor revenue model prioritizes upfront fees over franchisee success
- 07MINOR6% royalty on near-zero profits creates additional cash flow burden on already-drowning unit economics
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 | 3 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | San Diego County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 48 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Boulevard
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Boulevard
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
20 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
True REST · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a True REST franchise?
The total investment to open a True REST franchise ranges from $415K – $1.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do True REST franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the True REST FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $398K. The median is $452K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is True REST's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, True REST has a charge-off rate of 8.3% across 24 loans, meaning 8.3% 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 True REST franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, True REST has 44 total units in the United States, including 31 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is True REST a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates True REST as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 65 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.