Village Inn Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Village Inn is a family-dining franchise serving all-day breakfast, comfort food, and its signature pies. Franchisees run full-service restaurants managing kitchen and service staff across dayparts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Village Inn franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.1M – $2.7M, including a $20K – $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.5% charge-off rate across 24 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: D (Below average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.1M – $2.7M
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Net sales9th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 114
- 32nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 10.5%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants 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 $1.1M – $2.7M including a $35K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.8M).
- RISKVerdict D (Below average), verdict score 35/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.5% across 24 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAGBankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- VI BrandCo, LLC
- Parent company
- VI OpCo, LLC / Village Inn Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- MTY Food Group, Inc.
- Predecessor
- American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC (ABRH); VICORP Restaurants, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer (MTY)
- Eric Lefebvre
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 12701 Whitewater Drive, Suite 100, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343-4164
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $597.5M
- vs $606.6M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Eric Lefebvre
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 1959
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 18
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 64% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $100K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $990K | $2.6M |
| Total initial investment | $1.1M | $2.7M |
Source: Village Inn 2025 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
- $1.1M – $2.7M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $100K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 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 | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the full-service restaurants norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Village Inn 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
$2.0M
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 Village Inn 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.8M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- net sales
- Sample size
- 88 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $722K→$3.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 802 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 1.0x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.9M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.0x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.0% — below the Full-Service Restaurants average of 7.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -10.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Village Inn Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 114
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.5%
- Company-owned
- 26
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 1%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -10.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -10.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 1.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 1.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.6%
- 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
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
- $17.7M
- Median loan
- $2.9M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 10.5%
- 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
- 10
- Defaults
- 2
- Typical loan rate
- 8.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 13.2%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 44
- 0.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 50%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in full-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 13.2% vs 9.7% for independents — franchising is associated with 36% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Village Inn 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Village Inn's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 2 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 2-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 10.5% — 34% 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
Legacy restaurant brand (114 units, since 1961) under MTY with strong parent-level financials (net worth $252,936,000, net income $16,978,000). Predecessor ABRH filed Chapter 11 in 2020 (closed 2021) and 14 disclosed suits span MTY brands, not Village Inn specifically. System contracting -10.2%. Old bankruptcy is low weight; concerns stacked but parent-backed.
Litigation (Item 3)
One concluded case involving Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc. (predecessor) settled for $20,000 on March 11, 2016. One concluded case involving Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. with cross-complaints filed but resolution not detailed in provided text.
Largest disclosed settlement: $20,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 27, 2020 in District of Delaware (Case 1:20-BK-10161). Plan of reorganization confirmed September 16, 2020. Final decree entered September 30, 2021; case terminated October 19, 2021.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor financials are consolidated into audited financial statements of parent guarantor MTY Franchising USA, Inc., attached as Exhibit D-1; specific line-item figures (net income, assets, liabilities) not present in extracted text (financials likely embedded as scanned exhibit).
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 35 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDPredecessor ABRH Chapter 11 (2020, closed 2021 — old/low weight)
- 02MINOR14 system-wide MTY suits, none brand-specific
- 03MINORNet growth -10.2%
- 04MINORStrong parent financials, financials are parent-level
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 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | State where the Restaurant is located |
| Litigation count | 21 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One concluded case involving Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc. (predecessor) settled for $20,000 on March 11, 2016. One concluded case involving Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. with cross-complaints filed but resolution not detailed in provided text.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 495 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; Village Inn evaluates/approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha Point of Sale Computer System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha Point of Sale Computer System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
72 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Village Inn · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Village Inn franchise?
The total investment to open a Village Inn franchise ranges from $1.1M – $2.7M, 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 Village Inn franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Village Inn FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.8M. Important context: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Village Inn 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 Village Inn FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Village Inn's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Village Inn has a charge-off rate of 10.5% across 24 loans, meaning 10.5% 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 Village Inn franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Village Inn has 114 total units in the United States, including 88 franchised units and 26 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Village Inn a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Village Inn as a D-grade franchise with a verdict score of 35 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.