California Tortilla
The total investment to open a California Tortilla franchise ranges from $135,000 to $567,700. The initial franchise fee is $40,000. Ongoing royalties are 5% plus a 2% advertising fee.
What is the California Tortilla franchise?
California Tortilla is a full service restaurant serving Mexican inspired food to diners. The estimated total initial investment is $135,000 to $567,700, and the initial franchise fee is $40,000.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 5 percent of sales and a 2 percent advertising or brand fund fee. The franchise agreement term is 10 years. The company is headquartered in Dumfries, VA, and was founded in 1995.
Loan Activity Score
19/100
SBA Default Rate
38.9%
Active Lenders
10
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, California Tortilla has 13 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 10 lenders made 18 loans to franchisees of California Tortilla. PeerSense calculates California Tortilla's score as 19 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1995 · 13 locations
$135,000 to $567,700
$40,000
13
13 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for California Tortilla
18
Total SBA loans
$389K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for California Tortilla
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Growing (10 to 24 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
38.9%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
18
Total Volume
$7.0M
Active Lenders
10
States
5
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for California Tortilla based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
38.9%
28.6% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
18 loans
Across 10 lenders
Lender Diversity
10 lenders
Avg 1.8 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Significant investment
$135,000 to $567,700 total
California Tortilla: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2016
3 approvals. The best year on record for California Tortilla.
Top SBA State
Virginia
9 SBA financed California Tortilla locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$364K
Median $366K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own California Tortilla unit.
Lender Concentration
41.7%
Concentrated
Share of California Tortilla approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
California Tortilla's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2016 (3 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 17% of cumulative volume ($1.2M approved). Operator density is highest in Virginia with 9 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $364K, with the median at $366K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 41.7% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$1,397
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
California Tortilla, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman