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FranchiseVerdict

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2 brands side-by-side

Compare up to 5 brands side by side

indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.

How winners are chosen

Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.

Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.

A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.

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These figures come from FDDs of different years (2025, 2026). Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.

Focus by buyer type

Brand
Mellow Mushroom logoBAbove average
Mellow Mushroom
Full-Service Restaurants
2026 FDD
Remove
Gyu-Kaku logoAStrongest tier
Gyu-Kaku
Full-Service Restaurants
2025 FDD
Remove
Vitals
FDD filing
2026 FDD
FDD issued Jun 10, 2025
Investment range
$1.7M – $2.9M
$2.3M – $2.6M
Liquid capital
$60K – $60K
$15K – $60K
Franchise fee
$50K
$50K
Royalty rate
5.0%
5.0%
Ad fund rate
3.0%
1.5%
Performance
Avg gross sales
$2.7M
No Item 19 representation
Median gross sales
$2.6M
Not disclosed
Avg owner earnings
Metric varies by brand. Check type below
Not extracted
Not disclosed
Earnings metric
Not classified
Not classified
Risk
Rating
BAbove average
AStrongest tier
Verdict score
56 / 100
83 / 100
SBA charge-off rate
15.0% (n=142)
0.0% (n=12)
SBA loans on record
142
12
Scale
Total units
161
60
Net change (latest yr)
-5
-4
Signed, not yet open
1 (0.01 per open outlet)
4 (0.07 per open outlet)
Turnover rate
3.1%
6.7%
Contract
Initial term (years)
15
10
Renewal term (years)
5
10
Initial training (hrs)
267
350
Contacts
Franchisee phones
134
30

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