Waffle CabinFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Waffle Cabin franchise requires a total initial investment of $90K – $226K, including a $24K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $142K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $90K – $226K
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $142K
- 0th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 52
- 36th 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
Franchised units fell from 28 to 14 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $90K – $226K including a $24K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $142K/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 51/100.
- System growing at 35.7% CAGR over 3 years with 52 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Atomium, Inc.
- Incorporated in
- VT
- HQ
- 18 Night Pasture Lane, South Chittenden, Vermont 05701
- Auditor
- McCormack, Guyette & Associates, PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $522K
- vs $872K prior year
Affiliated brands
- has never offered franchises in this or any other line of business
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service waffle restaurants, managing inventory, food preparation, customer service, and point-of-sale operations. Daily responsibilities include staffing, quality control, marketing in protected territory, and royalty/fee compliance. Operators focus on high-margin breakfast/brunch service with potential daypart expansion.
- CEO
- Peter E. Creyf
- Headquarters
- VT
- Founded
- 2012
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 12
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 21 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $24K | $24K | |
| Delayed Opening Feenot refundable | $0 | $15K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $30K | $100K | |
| Lease Payments - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $1K | $21K | |
| Security Deposits | — | — | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixturesnot refundable | $21K | $30K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $750 | $1K | |
| Initial Inventory - Proprietary Itemsnot refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Initial Inventory - Othernot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Point-of-Sale Systemnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Trainingnot refundable | $0 | $4K | |
| Insurance - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $500 | $500 | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | — | — | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $250 | $1K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $10K | $18K | |
| Vehicle (Mobile - Trailer/Truck)not refundable | $35K | $90K | |
| Equipment (Mobile - Trailer/Truck)not refundable | $15K | $25K | |
| Initial Inventory - Proprietary Items (Mobile)not refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Initial Inventory - Other (Mobile)not refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Total initial investment | $148K | $348K |
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
$16K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $90K – $226K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $18K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $21K – $24K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 37.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $30 |
| Training fee | $2K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Inventory (initial) | $4K – $6K |
| Total fee load | 37.0% of rev |
At 37.0% total fee load, roughly $52K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $142K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 52 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $0→$121K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 3 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · below
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Waffle Cabin Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 52
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 1.9%
- Company-owned
- 14
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 73%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +11.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +35.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 7.1%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Waffle Cabin presents caution-level risk due to missing profitability disclosure, unclear franchisor financial health, and unit economics that may not support the mid-to-high investment range.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $35,250
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · McCormack, Guyette & Associates, PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo net income disclosure (Item 19) prevents ROI validation and profitability assessment
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False indicates franchisor may lack financial stability or has undisclosed operational challenges
- 03MINORWide investment range ($90K-$226K) with modest $141.6K avg revenue creates unfavorable payback period and unclear unit economics
- 04MEDModest unit growth (11.8% YoY) on small base (52 units) suggests limited system momentum and market traction
- 05MINOR5% royalty on gross sales is reasonable, but without net income data, true cost burden is unknown
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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius, city blocks, or zip codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | Vermont |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 12 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 13 hrs
- Training location
- franchisor_facility_and_on_site
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- ShopKeep POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ShopKeep POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
23 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Waffle Cabin · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Waffle Cabin franchise?
The total investment to open a Waffle Cabin franchise ranges from $90K – $226K, with an initial franchise fee of $24K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Waffle Cabin franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Waffle Cabin FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $142K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Waffle Cabin's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Waffle Cabin (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 Waffle Cabin franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Waffle Cabin has 52 total units in the United States, including 28 franchised units and 14 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Waffle Cabin a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Waffle Cabin as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 51 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
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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.