Young Chefs Academy Franchise Cost & 2026 FDD Data
55/100
Second tier
55 this brand55 Education medianlikely 51–59: narrower with more SBA loans (high confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#1,376 of 3,068 graded brands
Why a B: Helped by unit growth, legal record and transparency. Held back by financial health and unit economics. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $239K – $563K
- Avg gross sales
- $266K
- “All Franchisees”, 26 outlets; not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 9 resolved of 16 loans: too few to judge
Data from the FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026 FDD
Per the 2026 FDD, a Young Chefs Academy franchise requires a total initial investment of $239K – $563K, including a $50K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 6.0%. Per the 2026 FDD, average gross sales were $266K (Item 19 group “All Franchisees”, 26 outlets; gross sales, not profit). Verdict grade: B (Second tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2026 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low (issued within the last 12 months)
Evidence for the headline figures: 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 scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Education median
Top edge: green = better than the Education median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSAverage gross sales of $266K/year (outlet median $223K; Item 19 group “All Franchisees”, 26 outlets; gross sales, not profit).
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets grew by 3 (5 opened, 2 closed).
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $52K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $80K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $321K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (2)
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- Item 15 (owner participation) requires the owner, or a principal the franchisor approves, to run the business day to day. Ask how much of the business that principal must own.
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating, no net loss of franchised outlets in the latest Item 20 years, no lawsuit naming the franchisor in Item 3, no supplier rebates to the franchisor and the full filing on file, and an Item 19 average from 26 units. Not on file here, so ask: SBA charge-off rate against the category median and jury-trial waiver.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match, or the lenders already lending to this brand in the SBA section. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 2.1× the Education median ($188K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask YCA Franchising, Inc. (Item 1: 10412 China Spring Rd Ste F #1157, Waco, TX 76708) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Opening Support Fee | $3K | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Inventory | $1K | $2K | |
| Travel and living expenses for initial training (per person) | $1K | $2K | |
| Lease | $4K | $18K | |
| Real Estate Improvements & Millwork | $98.2K | $348.1K | |
| Furniture, fixtures, equipment, and signage | $22.5K | $40.1K | |
| Architecture and Engineering | $4K | $17K | |
| Project management | $19K | $19K | |
| Office Equipment | $1K | $2.5K | |
| Supplies | $500 | $3K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing and Advertising | $3K | $8K | |
| Deposits, business licenses, permits, etc. | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance (For 1 year) | $1K | $2K | |
| Professional fees | $3.5K | $7.5K | |
| Additional Funds (for first 3 months) | $24K | $36K | |
| Total initial investment | $239K | $563K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Lines marked “(per …)” are rates per unit as printed, so they are not added into any total. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fundBrand-wide marketing pool. 2% of previous month's Gross Sales, minimum $100/month | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology feeCurrently $250/month for required operating program access; may increase up to $25/month per calendar year with 30 days written notice | $250/month |
| Transfer fee | $5,000 |
| Renewal fee | $3,000 |
| Total fee loadbelow the Education median of 9.0% (lean) | 8.0% of sales |
A 8.0% total fee load is below the Education median of 9.0% (lean). More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
What do units actually make?
Average gross sales are 38% below the Education median ($427K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19 (sales and earnings)
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Young Chefs Academy unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
Average gross sales are $266K (FDD p.51), and the royalty and ad fund take about $21K of that a year (Item 6). This brand's Item 19 prints cost or operating-income lines that are not on this page yet. Read them in Item 19 and enter them here. So this box does not estimate a profit. To cover the loan payment alone, one unit has to clear $52K a year after its food, labor, rent and other costs and the franchisor's fees.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $401K Item 7 midpoint is a $321K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $52K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours. Young Chefs Academy's past SBA 7(a) loans averaged 8.6% at approval; 7(a) rates move with the prime rate, so 10.5% is a current-rate assumption, not this brand's history.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $80K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $401K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $321K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
One unit
One unit: what is left after the loan payment
Gross sales, minus the franchisor's fees and the operating costs, is the unit's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Minus an assumed loan payment, that is what is left for you, before tax. Gross sales are not profit.
This brand's Item 19 prints cost or operating-income lines that are not on this page yet. Read them in Item 19 and enter them here. Invested capital is the Item 7 total, which already includes its working-capital (additional funds) line.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Young Chefs Academy unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Item 19: $266,024 average for 26 outlets (All Franchisees). Use a figure for outlets like yours if yours differ.
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
The filing also sets a minimum or cap on these fees: “6% of previous month's Gross Sales, minimum $400/month”; “2% of previous month's Gross Sales, minimum $100/month” (Item 6). This model applies the percentages, so at low sales the real fee can be higher than shown here.
Item 6, as stored, a year. A fixed fee, so it comes off EBITDA as dollars, not a share of sales.
This brand's Item 19 prints cost or operating-income lines that are not on this page yet. Read them in Item 19 and enter them here.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $239K to $563K
Item 7's $24K to $36K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies direct costs, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $321K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
Buying several existing units? The acquisition scenario
Buying several units
What buying a few existing units could return
Prices an existing operator of a few units off the single-unit EBITDA above, after shared services, and finances it with an SBA 7(a) loan, a conventional loan and a seller note. It shows the yearly return on your cash (IRR), whether year-1 earnings cover the loan payments (DSCR) and how the price is paid for. It starts at 5 units; every deal term is an assumption you can change, and none is from the FDD.
Not modelled yet
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies direct costs, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
This scenario starts from a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in the one-unit model above and it runs on that figure, or take it to the full ROI workbench, where the multi-unit and acquisition models accept your own per-unit economics.
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: 2026 FDD · filed by YCA Franchising, Inc.
Financial performance
- Range (low → high)
- $80K→$661KSource: 2026 FDD, page 48
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
Percentile ranks within Education
Each rank is among the Education brands that report that figure (the count is under each bar).
Average gross sales are only 0.7x the investment midpoint, so recouping the initial outlay is likely to take years even at strong margins. Gross sales are not profit.
vs Education medians
How Young Chefs Academy compares
Category median of published Education 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.
Who are you contracting with?
YCA Franchising, Inc., owned by Youth Franchise Brands, LLC.
Item 1 (the franchisor) · who you're contracting with
The franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- YCA Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Youth Franchise Brands, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- Predecessor
- Young Chefs International LP
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Leigh Feldman
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 10412 China Spring Rd Ste F #1157, Waco, TX 76708
- Auditor
- Kezos & Dunlavy
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $696K
- latest fiscal year in the 2026 FDD
Overview
About
Young Chefs Academy franchisees operate a cooking school offering cooking classes and instruction for children, families, and adults, including occasional classes for special needs adults and corporate team-building events.
- CEO
- Leigh Feldman
- States and territories listed
- 13
- registered or offered in, as the filing lists them (DC and territories included); not where units may open
Is the system healthy?
+6 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025 (24 to 30, +25.0% in total, +11.8% a year compounded).
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20 (outlets opened, closed and transferred)
Item 20 (outlet counts) · unit dynamics
The growth chart
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 rates and pipeline
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 7
- 0.23 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Item 20 · franchised units at year end
Franchised units rose from 24 in 2023 to 30 in 2025
Axis does not start at zero.
Source and method
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
- Loans on file
- 16
- SBA 7(a) loans matched to this brand, incl. those still being repaid
- Loan volume
- $2.1M
- Average loan
- $132K
- loan volume divided by loans
- Charge-off rate
- 9 resolved of 16 loans: too few to judge
- Limited SBA coverage: 16 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
- Paid in full
- 9 resolved of 16 loans: too few to judge
- Recent-loan charge-off
- 9 resolved of 16 loans: too few to judge
- Lenders
- 10
- Average interest rate
- 8.6%
- Jobs reported
- 128
- Lender concentration
- 25%
- top lender's share
Cumulative: every 7(a) loan matched to this brand in the SBA’s FOIA files, approved FY1991 onward. Historical lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Full SBA lending reportlenders · charge-off rate · trend
Lender network · SBA 7(a)
SBA Lending Report
Lender, state and yearly detail for Young Chefs Academy from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records.
- Average SBA guarantee
- 70%
- Average interest rate
- 8.6%
- Lender concentration
- 25%
- Jobs reported
- 128
Top 10 SBA lenders by loan count
| Loans | Volume | Charge-off |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | ||
| 4 | $518K | Too few1 resolved |
| First Bank | ||
| 2 | $369K | Too few2 resolved |
| Newtown Savings Bank | ||
| 2 | $75K | Too few2 resolved |
| Popular Bank | ||
| 2 | $188K | Too few2 resolved |
| Allegiance FCU | ||
| 1 | $130K | Too few1 resolved |
| Cadence Bank | ||
| 1 | $215K | Too few0 resolved |
| Economic and Community Development Institute | ||
| 1 | $179K | Too few0 resolved |
| Pinnacle Bank | ||
| 1 | $188K | Too few0 resolved |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | ||
| 1 | $100K | Too few0 resolved |
| Stearns Bank National Association | ||
| 1 | $150K | Too few1 resolved |
A lender’s rate counts only its resolved loans, the loans that have finished (paid in full or charged off); a 0.0% often means few of its loans have finished. Under 10 resolved loans, the rate reads “Too few”.
Charge-off rate by state (top 10 by loans)
| State | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX Texas | 4 | 1 | Too few2 resolved |
| FL Florida | 3 | 2 | Too few3 resolved |
| OH Ohio | 3 | 0 | Too few1 resolved |
| CT Connecticut | 2 | 2 | Too few2 resolved |
| PA Pennsylvania | 2 | 0 | Too few0 resolved |
| GA Georgia | 1 | 0 | Too few0 resolved |
| OK Oklahoma | 1 | 1 | Too few1 resolved |
Rate: charged-off loans over resolved loans (paid in full plus charged off), shown from 10 resolved loans. "Too few": under 10 resolved. The Loans column counts every approval in the window, including loans still being repaid.
SBA 7(a) loans approved per year
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level data, matched to the brand by FranchiseVerdict.
What are the risks?
Main risk in the grade: unit economics, then financial health. The reasons are below.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade B: Second tier, 55/100 (category median 55); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why a B, factor by factor
- Financial health Weighs on itAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; franchisor reported a net loss
- Unit economics Weighs on it, weakest dimensionAvg gross sales $266K on a $401K investment midpoint, 0.7x (gross sales, not profit)
- Unit growth Helps+6 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025 (24 to 30, +25.0% in total, +11.8% a year compounded); turnover 6.7%
- Scale Neutral30 franchised units; franchising since 2014
- Legal HelpsNo litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 discloses financial performance; audited financials
- Adjustments after the six dimensions (+1 point)Rounding: the score is kept as a whole number, which moved it by 1 point.
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
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 · Kezos & Dunlavy
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Franchisor takes supplier rebates: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Allowed renewals | 1 |
|---|---|
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Territory radius | 5 mi |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Reserved by franchisor |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Who runs it (Item 15) | The owner, or a principal the franchisor approves, must run it |
| Non-compete (years) | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles) | 75 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination grounds | 12 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Not applicable - dispute resolution is by mediation, not binding arbitration; choice of forum is U.S. District Court for Western District of Texas or McLennan County, Texas |
| Governing law | Texas |
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- Classroom training
- 45 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 25 hrs
- Training location
- Woodlands, TX or site of a Young Chefs franchise
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 4–9 mo
- From signing to launch (FDD p.24)
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Young Chefs Academy franchise?
Per the 2026 FDD, the total investment to open a Young Chefs Academy franchise ranges from $239K to $563K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Young Chefs Academy franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Young Chefs Academy FDD, average gross sales were $266K (Item 19 group “All Franchisees”, 26 outlets; gross sales, not profit). The median is $223K. What an owner keeps depends on location, operating costs and management.
Who owns Young Chefs Academy?
Young Chefs Academy is franchised by YCA Franchising, Inc. Its parent company is Youth Franchise Brands, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Young Chefs Academy 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 Young Chefs Academy FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Young Chefs Academy's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Young Chefs Academy has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
How many Young Chefs Academy franchise locations are there?
Per the 2026 FDD, Young Chefs Academy has 30 franchised units and 0 company-owned (30 in all). In the latest year, the number of franchised outlets grew by 3 (5 opened, 2 closed).
Is Young Chefs Academy a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Young Chefs Academy a B Verdict grade (Second tier) with a verdict score of 55 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by unit growth, legal record and transparency. Held back by financial health (audited financials) and unit economics (avg gross sales $266K on a $401K investment midpoint, 0.7x: gross sales, not profit). The “Why a B” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Education franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.