FranchiseVerdict
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FV-02916·MODERATEExcellent95

Wagbar

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2023Website
Investment
$472K – $1.1M
62nd pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$410K
3rd pct Full Service
Royalty
6.0%
54th pct Full Service
Units
1
3rd pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $472K – $1.1M including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $410K/year (median $406K). Estimated payback in 8.8 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
  • Emerging franchise — only 3 years of franchising with 1 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Wagbar Franchising, LLC
Incorporated in
North Carolina
HQ
34 Magnolia Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
Auditor
Metwally CPA PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$0
vs $318K prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Wagbar unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $409,784
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $472K–$1.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$75K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

8%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$66K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$862K
Payback
158 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Wagbar units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$738K

on $3.7M purchase

Total debt

$3.0M

SBA $1.8M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Wagbar franchisees operate a full-service casual dining establishment serving wagyu beef-focused entrees, sides, and beverages. Day-to-day operations include inventory management, food preparation, table service, kitchen supervision, staffing, and local marketing to drive customer traffic and repeat business.

CEO
Kendal Kulp
Founded
2023
FDD year
2024
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$472K – $1.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $75K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$35K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Adjusted Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
8.8 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$410K
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$406K
Item 19 type
Historic P&L of affiliate outlet
Sample size
1 units
vs category median 15 · small
Range (low → high)
$393K$431K
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
10 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank3th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank62th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank54th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank3th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank62th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
1
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
0%
vs corporate-owned
2022
0±0
Franchised units
2023
0
Franchised units
2024
0
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 15 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Single-unit system with unverified financial claims, going concern warning, and investment costs that may take 5+ years to recoup — extreme difficulty assessing franchise viability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDOnly 1 unit disclosed — impossible to validate system viability or growth trajectory; suggests either new system or severe contraction
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status FALSE — franchisor may have financial instability or operational risk that undermines support
  3. 03MINORHigh investment-to-revenue ratio: $472k-$1.1M required but average unit generates only $410k revenue (potential 15-year payback period)
  4. 04MINORWide investment range ($675k spread) indicates unclear cost structure and difficulty predicting actual franchise costs
  5. 05MINORNo Item 19 financial performance data publicly available — cannot independently verify the $92k net income claim
  6. 06MINORModest 22.5% net margin ($92k net on $410k revenue) leaves thin margin for error, debt service, and franchisor royalties
  7. 07MINOR6% royalty on adjusted gross sales is standard but compounds profitability pressure given narrow margins

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Population-based radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
North Carolina

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
17 hrs
On-the-job training
22 hrs
POS system
Square
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

16 numbers

Locked
(410) 576-••••
MD
(808) 586-••••
HI
(605) 773-••••
SD

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Wagbar · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above