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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.
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 Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.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 |  CAverageWATERS EDGE WINERY & BISTRO Full-Service Restaurants 2025 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageHappy Joe's Pizza & Ice Cream Full-Service Restaurants 2026 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
FDD filing | FDD issued May 16, 2025 | FDD issued Jan 28, 2026 |
Investment range | $577K – $1.3M | $547K – $1.4M |
Liquid capital | $10K – $50K | $84K – $153K |
Franchise fee | $55K | $40K |
Royalty rate | 5.0% | 6.0% |
Ad fund rate | 2.0% | 1.8% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | $882K | $969KCompany-owned only |
Median gross sales | $585K | $948KCompany-owned only |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | CAverage | BAbove average |
Verdict score | 43 / 100 | 59 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Under 10 loans (8) | Under 10 loans (5) |
SBA loans on record | 8 | 5 |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 10 | 32 |
Net change (latest yr) | -2 | 0 |
Signed, not yet open | 4 (0.40 per open outlet) | Not extracted |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 9.4% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 10 | Not extracted |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | Not extracted |
Initial training (hrs) | 40 | Not extracted |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 6 | 0 |
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