Z!Eats Franchise Cost & 2025 FDD Data
29/100
Fourth tier
29 this brand51 Quick-Service Restaurants medianlikely 25–33 (high confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#2,991 of 3,068 graded brands
Why a D: Helped by legal record and transparency. Held back by unit economics, unit growth and scale. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $498K – $713K
- Avg net sales
- $577K
- 29 outlets reporting; not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 19.7%
1 in 5 SBA 7(a) loans to Z!Eats owners charged off (15 of 76 resolved loans, approved since FY1991); Quick-Service Restaurants median 17.6%. Loans approved FY2014–FY2019: 15 of 57 resolved loans charged off (26.3%); newer loans have not had time to default, so this is not a trend.
Data from the FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2025 FDD
Per the 2025 FDD, a Z!Eats franchise requires a total initial investment of $498K – $713K, including a $35K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 6.0%. Per the 2025 FDD, average net sales were $577K (29 outlets reporting; net sales, not profit). SBA 7(a) loans show a 19.7% charge-off rate on 76 resolved loans. Verdict grade: D (Fourth tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2025 FDD · SBA 7(a) loan records (FOIA) · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium (issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file)
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 scored5 of 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Quick-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Quick-Service Restaurants 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 net sales of $577K/year (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system; 29 outlets reporting; net sales, not profit).
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets fell by 14 (2 opened, 16 closed).
- FLAG4 units terminated last reporting year (8.2% of the franchised outlets open at the start of that year). Ask existing franchisees why.
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $78K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $121K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $484K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (6)
- Net -14 franchised outlets in 2024 (Item 20, outlet counts). Ask owners why outlets closed.
- SBA 7(a) charge-off 19.7% on 76 resolved loans, loans approved since FY1991, above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 17.6% (175 brands).
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- You waive a jury trial in disputes with the franchisor (Item 17, renewal, termination and disputes).
- The franchisor receives rebates or payments from suppliers you buy from (Item 8, required suppliers).
- 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 lawsuit naming the franchisor in Item 3 and the full filing on file, and an Item 19 average from 29 units.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: read the 2025 filing on this site, page by page. The franchisor must also give you its current FDD 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 24% above the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($487K).
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Zoup Franchising Co., LLC (Item 1: 3135 1st Avenue N., Suite 15459, St. Petersburg, Florida 33733) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $35K | |
| Architectural Plan Review | $0 | $1K | |
| Architect Fees | $13.5K | $15.5K | |
| Permits & License Fee | $1.5K | $5K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $220.5K | $330K | |
| Equipment | $125K | $143K | |
| Furniture | $5K | $15K | |
| Millwork | $11K | $15K | |
| Smallwares | $9K | $20K | |
| Exterior Signage | $7K | $14K | |
| Interior Signage and Graphics | $4.3K | $9.5K | |
| Technology Systems | $25K | $32K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $15K | $15K | |
| Uniforms, Menu Materials, Office Supplies | $2K | $4.5K | |
| Travel & Living Expenses While Training | $0 | $7.5K | |
| Opening Inventory | $7.5K | $12K | |
| Insurance | $1.5K | $3.5K | |
| Additional Funds – 3 months | $15K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $498K | $713K |
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. 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 net sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of net sales |
| Technology feeTechnology License and Development Fee of $605-$1,400, due weekly (Wednesdays) | $605–$1,400/week |
| Renewal fee | $17,500 |
| Total fee loadabove the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.0% (heavy) | 9.0% of sales |
What do units actually make?
Average net sales are 39% below the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($950K).
Source: FDD 2025 · 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 Z!Eats unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
Average net sales are $577K, and the royalty and ad fund take about $52K of that a year (Item 6). This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. So this box does not estimate a profit. To cover the loan payment alone, one unit has to clear $78K 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 $605K Item 7 midpoint is a $484K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $78K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours. Z!Eats' past SBA 7(a) loans averaged 6.3% 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 $121K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $605K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $484K.
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 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. Invested capital is the Item 7 total, which already includes its working-capital (additional funds) line.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Z!Eats unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Item 19 reports $577,191 per unit. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
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 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
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 $498K to $713K
Item 7's $15K to $35K 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 COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $484K 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 COGS, 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: 2025 FDD · filed by Zoup Franchising Co., LLC
Financial performance
- Range (low → high)
- $298K→$1.1MNot cited
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
Percentile ranks within Quick-Service Restaurants
Each rank is among the Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report that figure (the count is under each bar).
Average gross sales are only 1.0x the investment midpoint, so recouping the initial outlay is likely to take years even at strong margins. Gross sales are not profit.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Z!Eats compares
Category median of published Quick-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.
Who are you contracting with?
Zoup Franchising Co., LLC, owned by Zoup Restaurant Co., LLC.
Item 1 (the franchisor) · who you're contracting with
The franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Zoup Franchising Co., LLC
- Parent company
- Zoup Restaurant Co., LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- CLP Dining, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- Predecessor
- Zoup! Systems, L.L.C.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- Bryan Kelly Roddy
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 3135 1st Avenue N., Suite 15459, St. Petersburg, Florida 33733
- Auditor
- Hill, Barth & King LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $32.1M
- latest fiscal year in the 2025 FDD; $34.8M the year before
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 7
3 other brands on this site name CLP Dining, LLC as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
- Frutta Bowls (grade F)
- Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh (grade B)
- Saladworks (grade D)
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2025 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
Zoup Franchising Co., LLC grants franchises to operate Z!Eats (formerly Zoup!) fast-casual restaurants featuring soups, sandwiches, salads, and cold beverages prepared under specified recipes and procedures.
- CEO
- Bryan Kelly Roddy
- States and territories listed
- 9
- registered or offered in, as the filing lists them (DC and territories included); not where units may open
Is the system healthy?
-27 franchised outlets over the two years to 2024 (62 to 35, -43.5% in total, -24.9% a year compounded).
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20 (outlets opened, closed and transferred)
Item 20 (outlet counts) · unit dynamics
The growth chart
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 rates and pipeline
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 5
- 0.14 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Item 20 · franchised units at year end
Franchised units fell from 62 in 2022 to 35 in 2024
Axis does not start at zero.
Source and method
Item 20 (outlet counts) outlets · 4 states
Where current outlets are
States with at least one current outlet in the Item 20 list the franchisor prints. Former owners are not counted, and this is not a list of where the franchisor may sell new units.
Current outlets (count on the tile) · 4 statesNo current outlet
4 current outlets in 4 states: the 4 on the owner list, of 35 franchised at year end (Item 20). 11 former owners (terminated, transferred, not renewed or otherwise left) listed separately.
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. The contact details are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Government records
SBA loan data
Lenders charged off 19.7% of 76 resolved SBA 7(a) loans, above the 17.6% category median. 7(a) is the SBA's main small-business loan; a resolved loan was paid in full or charged off.
- Loans on file
- 87
- SBA 7(a) loans matched to this brand, incl. those still being repaid
- Loan volume
- $25.4M
- Average loan
- $292K
- loan volume divided by loans
- Charge-off rate
- 19.7%
- 15 of 76 resolved loans
- Paid in full
- 80.3%
- of resolved loans
- Charge-off, loans approved FY2014–FY2019
- 26.3%
- 15 of 57 resolved loans; newer loans have not had time to default, so this is not a trend
- Lenders
- 24
- Average interest rate
- 6.3%
- Jobs reported
- 1,478
- on the 85 loans approved FY2009 on; earlier loans did not record jobs
- Lender concentration
- 41%
- 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
Benchmark: the median Quick-Service Restaurants brand charges off 17.6% (175 brands with a published rate, same cumulative window and source). This brand is 2.1 points above it.
Borrower mix: of 19 loans with a business-age entry, 17 recorded an age: 11 (65%) went to startups or businesses under two years old and 6 (35%) to established businesses or ownership changes; 2 were marked unanswered.
The approval-year breakdown covers 72 of the 76 resolved loans and 15 of the 15 charge-offs (FY2009 to FY2019).
SBA 7(a) · charge-off rate by approval year
Z!Eats: above all franchise loans in 3 of 4 rated years
Hollow rings on the axis: years with fewer than 10 resolved loans, not rated (too few to judge). Their numbers are in the table.
Show the numbers by year
| Year | Resolved | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | Too few |
| 2010 | 4 | 0 | Too few |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 | Too few |
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | Too few |
| 2014 | 10 | 4 | 40.0% |
| 2015 | 13 | 5 | 38.5% |
| 2016 | 14 | 4 | 28.6% |
| 2017 | 10 | 1 | 10.0% |
| 2018 | 6 | 1 | Too few |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | Too few |
Dashed line: all franchise 7(a) loans approved the same year.
Source and method
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 Z!Eats from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan records.
- Principal charged off (% of dollars)
- 10.8%
- Average charge-off
- $183K
- across 15 charged-off loans
- Average SBA guarantee
- 70%
- Average interest rate
- 6.3%
- Lender concentration
- 41%
- Jobs reported
- 1,478
Top 10 SBA lenders by loan count
| Loans | Volume | Charge-off |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | ||
| 36 | $8.9M | Not on file |
| Stearns Bank National Association | ||
| 7 | $2.5M | Not on file |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | ||
| 6 | $1.8M | Not on file |
| Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB | ||
| 5 | $1.6M | Not on file |
| Horizon Bank | ||
| 4 | $720K | Not on file |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OH Ohio | 29 | 5 | 18.5%27 resolved |
| MI Michigan | 14 | 0 | Too few9 resolved |
| PA Pennsylvania | 8 | 0 | Too few7 resolved |
| IL Illinois | 5 | 1 | Too few5 resolved |
| IN Indiana | 5 | 2 | Too few5 resolved |
| VA Virginia | 5 | 0 | Too few3 resolved |
| CO Colorado | 2 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| DE Delaware | 2 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| KY Kentucky | 2 | 0 | Too few2 resolved |
| MD Maryland | 2 | 0 | Too few2 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
Borrower profile
The SBA's own business-age labels (4)
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level data, matched to the brand by FranchiseVerdict.
What are the risks?
Main risk: a shrinking system. Franchised outlets fell from 62 to 35 over the two years to 2024.
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 D: Fourth tier, 29/100 (category median 51); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why a D, factor by factor
- Financial health NeutralAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; statements are the parent's, so this stays near neutral; early-stage franchisor
- Unit economics Weighs on itAvg net sales $577K on a $605K investment midpoint, 1.0x (net sales, not profit)
- Unit growth Weighs on it, weakest dimension-27 franchised outlets over the two years to 2024 (62 to 35, -43.5% in total, -24.9% a year compounded); turnover 44.4%
- Scale Weighs on it35 franchised units, +1 company-owned (36 in all); franchising since 2022
- Legal HelpsNo litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 discloses financial performance; audited financials
- Adjustments after the six dimensions (-7 points)SBA loan record: the SBA charge-off rate (19.7% on 76 resolved loans) is between 10% and 20%, a range the score counts against a brand, so it took 7 points off. The score uses fixed ranges, not the category median, so a rate below its category median can still cost points.
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 Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Hill, Barth & King LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
The revenue figures are in the Franchisor tab, under The franchisor.
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results; the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Franchisor takes supplier rebates: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Protected territory | Yes, on conditions |
|---|---|
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Territory size | “Franchisor grants a "protected territory" (not exclusive) around the Approved Location; scope/size is in franchisor's sole discretion based on location, traffic, demographics, etc., and at a minimum may be limited to the Approved Location itself. Franchisor and affiliates retain rights to compete via other channels, non-traditional locations, and different marks both inside and outside the Territory.” |
| 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) | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Termination grounds | 37 |
| Curable defaults | 10 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
Items 5 (initial fees), 7 (startup costs), 12 (territory) and 20 (outlet counts) · development agreement
Area development (several units)
A development fee of $35,000 per unit you commit to.
Every term, with its page
- Development fee
- $35,000 per unit committed.
2025 FDD p.12
“The Development Fee is due upon execution of your Development Agreement and is calculated as the sum of (i) $35,000, multiplied by (ii) the number of restaurants to be developed pursuant to the Development Agreement.”Open p.12 in the filing - Signed, not yet open
- 5 franchises sold but not open at year end (Item 20, Table 5; see Growth). Ask how long they have been waiting and why.
Each unit still needs its own Item 7 investment on top of the development fee ($35K times the units you commit to). Have a franchise attorney read the schedule and the default terms before you sign.
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Southfield, Michigan
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- POS System (required point-of-sale system designated by franchisor)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Item 20 (outlet counts) · call current owners
Franchisee contacts
Who can you call before you sign?
4 current outlets listed
Each record has a phone number and state. 13 of 15 also name the franchisee; 13 of 15 also name a city. 15 records: 4 current outlets + 11 former owners (terminated, transferred, not renewed or otherwise left). From the filing's Item 20 (the outlet list); the FDD itself is the free source. Our list covers 4 of the 35 franchised outlets Item 20 counts at year end; the owner exhibit prints the rest without a usable phone number, or omits them.
For your own due-diligence calls only. Not for telemarketing, marketing lists, or automated or prerecorded calls or texts.
The list is not offered for this brand yet. The FDD's Item 20 exhibit lists the owners.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Z!Eats franchise?
Per the 2025 FDD, the total investment to open a Z!Eats franchise ranges from $498K to $713K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. 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 Z!Eats franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Z!Eats FDD, average net sales were $577K (29 outlets reporting; net sales, not profit). Reported as net sales, not gross sales. What an owner keeps depends on location, operating costs and management.
Who owns Z!Eats?
Z!Eats is franchised by Zoup Franchising Co., LLC. Its parent company is Zoup Restaurant Co., LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is CLP Dining, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Z!Eats 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 Z!Eats FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Z!Eats' franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate. What is measurable is Z!Eats' SBA charge-off rate: 19.7% on 76 resolved loans. Put plainly: 1 in 5 SBA 7(a) loans to Z!Eats owners charged off (15 of 76 resolved loans, approved since FY1991); loans approved FY2014–FY2019: 15 of 57 resolved loans charged off (26.3%); newer loans have not had time to default, so this is not a trend. 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. A franchisee can repay and close, or default and keep trading.
How many Z!Eats franchise locations are there?
Per the 2025 FDD, Z!Eats has 35 franchised units and 1 company-owned (36 in all). In the latest year, the number of franchised outlets fell by 14 (2 opened, 16 closed).
Is Z!Eats a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Z!Eats a D Verdict grade (Fourth tier) with a verdict score of 29 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by legal record and transparency. Held back by unit economics (avg net sales $577K on a $605K investment midpoint, 1.0x: net sales, not profit), unit growth and scale. The “Why a D” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants 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.