Zoom DrainFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Formerly known as Drain Doctor
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ZOOM DRAIN franchise requires a total initial investment of $260K – $491K, including a $50K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.9M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 16.7% charge-off rate across 43 loans[1]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $260K – $491K
- 74th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $2.9M
- 46th pct Home Services
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 166
- 64th pct Home Services
- SBA default
- 16.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services 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
Each dollar invested generates 7.7x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 161 to 51 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $260K – $491K including a $50K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $2.9M/year (median $2.0M). Estimated payback in 0.1 years (based on Gross Margin). Note: this is gross profit, not take-home income.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 16.7% across 43 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 13 units terminated last reporting year (7.8% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- ZOOM DRAIN FRANCHISE, LLC
- Parent company
- ZD Holdco, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- MPK Equity Partners, LLC
- CEO title
- Manager and Chief Executive Officer
- James N. Criniti
- CEO experience
- 29 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 500 Davis Drive, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
- Auditor
- HM&M Group, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $6.4M
- vs $6.2M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Zoom Drain franchisees operate drain cleaning and plumbing maintenance services for residential and commercial customers. Daily operations include dispatch management, technician scheduling, customer service, and field work to diagnose and clear clogs, repairs, and preventative drain cleaning. The service-based model requires managing labor, equipment, vehicles, and local marketing.
- CEO
- James N. Criniti
- Headquarters
- PA
- Founded
- 1995
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 28
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $43K | $58K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $167K | $383K |
| Total initial investment | $260K | $491K |
Source: ZOOM DRAIN 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$318K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
75%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
16 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $260K – $491K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $43K – $58K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $120K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- During the first 12 months, 6% of Gross Sales. Starting i…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 0.1 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | greater of 6% of Gross Sales or $1,000 per Territory per month after 13 months |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.0M
- Avg gross margin
- $2.8M
- Reported as Gross Margin in FDD Item 19
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 59 units
- vs category median 25 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $344K→$6.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is 7.7x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Home Services averages
How Zoom Drain Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 166
- Opened
- 57
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 20
- Terminated
- 13
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +30.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 14
- Transfer rate
- 8.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 89.4%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 7.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 4.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 30 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.
- Total loans
- 43
- Loan volume
- $11.5M
- Median loan
- $292K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 16.7%
- 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)
- 83.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 16.7%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 6
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Zoom Drain's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 6 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 14 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 4-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Solid unit growth and strong reported financials are offset by lack of Item 19 disclosure, recent regulatory settlement, and royalty structure ambiguity requiring franchise disclosure document review.
Litigation (Item 3)
Affiliate Restoration 1 Franchise Holdings, LLC settled with Virginia State Corporation Commission (Case No. SEC-2014-00028) on July 16, 2024 for offering and selling a franchise after Virginia registration lapsed. Paid $1,000 for investigation costs, agreed to compliance training, and agreed not to violate Virginia Retail Franchise Act in future.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · HM&M Group, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 55 / 100 rating
- 01MINORRecent compliance violation in July 2024 by parent affiliate regarding franchise registration lapse in Virginia — indicates operational/legal oversight
- 02HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representations (Going Concern = False) — cannot independently verify the $2.89M average revenue claim
- 03MINORRoyalty structure creates ambiguity: $1,000/territory/month minimum from month 13 could disadvantage low-volume territories or create cash flow pressure
- 04MINORAggressive unit growth of 30.9% YoY may strain support infrastructure and quality control across 166 franchises
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Zip Codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 300,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Affiliate Restoration 1 Franchise Holdings, LLC settled with Virginia State Corporation Commission (Case No. SEC-2014-00028) on July 16, 2024 for offering and selling a franchise after Virginia registration lapsed. Paid $1,000 for investigation costs, agreed to compliance training, and agreed not to violate Virginia Retail Franchise Act in future.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 96 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 36 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant and franchisor's facility
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- ServiceTitan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceTitan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
90 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
ZOOM DRAIN · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ZOOM DRAIN franchise?
The total investment to open a ZOOM DRAIN franchise ranges from $260K – $491K, 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 ZOOM DRAIN franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ZOOM DRAIN FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.9M. The median is $2.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is ZOOM DRAIN's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, ZOOM DRAIN has a charge-off rate of 16.7% across 43 loans, meaning 16.7% 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 ZOOM DRAIN franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ZOOM DRAIN has 166 total units in the United States, including 161 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 57 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ZOOM DRAIN a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ZOOM DRAIN as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 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.
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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.