Wagbar Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $472K – $1.1M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Wagbar is a recreation franchise operating dog-park bars where guests enjoy drinks while dogs play off-leash. Franchisees run the venues, managing the bar, dog park, memberships, and events.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Wagbar franchise requires a total initial investment of $472K – $1.1M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2024 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $472K – $1.1M
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only1 outlet
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 1
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · 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 $472K – $1.1M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAn earlier version of this note quoted a dollar figure that APPEARS NOWHERE IN THE FILING - verified in comma, no-comma and period-for-comma form and against a de-punctuated digit stream, across every page. It was our own arithmetic published as the franchisor's disclosure. The '$410K' was OUR THREE-YEAR MEAN of one outlet ($409,785). The Item 19 table on p38 is a RASTER IMAGE - the page's first text word starts below it and the text is only 'Notes 1-7' referring to 'The table above' - and rendered at 5x it prints Sales $430,667.50 (2021), $405,983.47 (2022) and $392,702.72 (2023). The stored range was the outer two years with cents truncated, and THE MIDDLE YEAR, $405,983, IS MISSING FROM THIS ROW ENTIRELY.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 2 agreements signed but not yet open against 1 open outlets (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports Historic P&L of affiliate outlet 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
- Wagbar Franchising, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Kendal Kulp
- CEO experience
- 5 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- NC
- HQ
- 34 Magnolia Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
- Auditor
- Metwally CPA PLLC
- Audited financials
Overview
About
- CEO
- Kendal Kulp
- Headquarters
- NC
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 20% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $75K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $392K | $1.0M |
| Total initial investment | $472K | $1.1M |
Source: Wagbar 2024 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
- $472K – $1.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $75K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $600 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Wagbar is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Wagbar 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 annual revenue, 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.
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: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
An earlier version of this note quoted a dollar figure that APPEARS NOWHERE IN THE FILING - verified in comma, no-comma and period-for-comma form and against a de-punctuated digit stream, across every page. It was our own arithmetic published as the franchisor's disclosure. The '$410K' was OUR THREE-YEAR MEAN of one outlet ($409,785). The Item 19 table on p38 is a RASTER IMAGE - the page's first text word starts below it and the text is only 'Notes 1-7' referring to 'The table above' - and rendered at 5x it prints Sales $430,667.50 (2021), $405,983.47 (2022) and $392,702.72 (2023). The stored range was the outer two years with cents truncated, and THE MIDDLE YEAR, $405,983, IS MISSING FROM THIS ROW ENTIRELY.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a single outlet - not a system average
- Item 19 type
- Historic P&L of affiliate outlet
- Sample size
- 1 outlet
- vs category median 18 · small
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants 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 7.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports Historic P&L of affiliate outlet 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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Wagbar Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 2
- 2.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
No multi-year history disclosed and no opening/closing activity in the last reporting year.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Pre-opening dog-park/bar franchisor that began franchising in 2023 with only 1 company-owned unit and 0 franchised units. No litigation, bankruptcy, or going-concern issues, and financials are audited with Item 19 disclosed. Base risk reflects limited operating history rather than any distress.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Metwally CPA PLLC
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 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDBegan franchising 2023 - very limited track record
- 02MEDClean: 0 litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern, audited financials, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Exclusive territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Asheville, North Carolina |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | North Carolina |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 17 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 22 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and classroom
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee proposes; franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
2 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Wagbar franchise?
The total investment to open a Wagbar franchise ranges from $472K – $1.1M, 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 Wagbar franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Wagbar FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Wagbar?
Wagbar is franchised by Wagbar Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Wagbar 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 Wagbar FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Wagbar's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Wagbar (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 Wagbar franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Wagbar has 1 total units in the United States.
Is Wagbar a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Wagbar as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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
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.