Wienerschnitzel Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Wienerschnitzel is a quick-service franchise known for its chili dogs, corn dogs, and hot dogs, plus burgers and soft-serve. Franchisees run restaurants with drive-thru service, managing food prep and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Wienerschnitzel franchise requires a total initial investment of $519K – $2.5M, including a $10K – $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 21.0% charge-off rate across 117 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $519K – $2.5M
- 82nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 30th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 315
- 80th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 21.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-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
- Total investment $519K – $2.5M including a $10K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year.
- Verdict C (Average), verdict score 46/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 21.0% across 117 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Galardi Group Franchise Corp.
- Parent company
- Galardi Group, Inc.
- Predecessor
- in the sense of someone who we acquired
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- J.R. Galardi
- CEO experience
- 12 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 1775 Flight Way, Suite 125, Tustin, California 92782
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly US, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $186K
- vs $578K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- Tastee Freez
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- J.R. Galardi
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1961
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 12
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 138% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $10K | $40K | |
| Net Rent | $8K | $36K | |
| Equipment, Furniture, Furnishings, Fixtures | $8K | $300K | |
| Small wares | $4K | $7K | |
| Opening inventory | $5K | $10K | |
| Training | $0 | $15K | |
| Local Marketing at Opening | $0 | $5K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $21K | |
| Uniforms | $2K | $2K | |
| Security Deposits | $4K | $13K | |
| Real Estate Improvements | $450K | $2.0M | |
| Accountant/Lawyer | $2K | $8K | |
| Additional Funds - Three months working capital | $15K | $30K | |
| Additional investment for purchase of operating restaurant | — | — | |
| Technology Costs (Hardware) | $10K | $20K | |
| Initial Fee (Exclusive Right to Develop Agreement) | $80K | — | |
| First Franchise (Exclusive Right to Develop Agreement) | $519K | $2.5M | |
| Total initial investment | $1.1M | $5.0M |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $519K – $2.5M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$147K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.5 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Average Sales
- Sample size
- 240 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $756K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $756K→$1.6M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · typical
Compared against 485 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.7x 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 $1.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 9.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 3/10 — moderate disclosure depth. Average and range data are available but detailed cohort breakdowns may be limited.
Operator retention
System contracting at -3.1% 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 Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Wienerschnitzel Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 315
- Opened
- 11
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 11
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.1%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -3.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 13
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 17
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 95.6%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 3.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 12 states 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.
12
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.
- Total loans
- 117
- Loan volume
- $64.3M
- Median loan
- $481K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 21.0%
- 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)
- 79.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 36
- Defaults
- 17
- Typical loan rate
- 6.6%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 21.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 1,448
- 3.3 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 17%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 40% went to startups / new businesses, 60% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.5% vs 25.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Wienerschnitzel charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Wienerschnitzel franchisees
Showing 3 of 36 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 Wienerschnitzel'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 11 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 23-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 21.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 5 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 21.0% — 31% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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
Established QSR (franchising since 1965) with 315 all-franchised units and healthy $6.08M net worth, audited with Item 19. Single dismissed litigation matter. Small franchisor net loss of -$137,892 on low $578K revenue is the lone concern; slight -3.1% unit decline is immaterial.
Litigation (Item 3)
Hooman Nissani; Playa Vista Wienerschnitzel, Inc. v. Galardi Group Franchise Corp., Galardi Group Franchise & Leasing, LLC, et al. (Superior Court of California for Orange County, No. 30-2019-01115068CU-CO-CJC, filed November 27, 2019). Alleged breach of contract and fraud by former franchisee. Dismissed February 24, 2025.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly US, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSmall franchisor net loss of -$137,892
- 02MINORPositive net worth $6.08M, low turnover 4.1%
- 03HIGH1 litigation matter, dismissed Feb 2025
- 04MEDAudited financials, Item 19 disclosed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Orange County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Hooman Nissani; Playa Vista Wienerschnitzel, Inc. v. Galardi Group Franchise Corp., Galardi Group Franchise & Leasing, LLC, et al. (Superior Court of California for Orange County, No. 30-2019-01115068CU-CO-CJC, filed November 27, 2019). Alleged breach of contract and fraud by former franchisee. Dismissed February 24, 2025.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 320 hrs
- Training location
- Training Restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 320 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Simphony POS 19.4
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Simphony POS 19.4
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Wienerschnitzel · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Wienerschnitzel franchise?
The total investment to open a Wienerschnitzel franchise ranges from $519K – $2.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $10K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Wienerschnitzel franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Wienerschnitzel FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Wienerschnitzel's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Wienerschnitzel has a charge-off rate of 21.0% across 117 loans, meaning 21.0% 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 Wienerschnitzel franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Wienerschnitzel has 315 total units in the United States, including 315 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 11 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Wienerschnitzel a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Wienerschnitzel as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 46 out of 100 (higher is better), 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
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.