Costa Vida
The total investment to open a Costa Vida franchise ranges from $659,500 to $1.1M. The initial franchise fee is $30,000. Ongoing royalties are 6% plus a 3% advertising fee.
What is the Costa Vida franchise?
Costa Vida is a restaurant serving Mexican food to people looking for a quick meal. The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document gives an estimated total initial investment of $659,500 to $1,061,000 and an initial franchise fee of $30,000.
The royalty is 6 percent of sales, and the advertising fund fee is 3 percent. The franchise agreement term is 10 years.
Costa Vida was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Lehi, UT.
Loan Activity Score
46/100
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
Active Lenders
4
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Costa Vida has 5 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 4 lenders made 6 loans to franchisees of Costa Vida. PeerSense calculates Costa Vida's score as 46 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity. Cost figures are based on the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document.
Franchising since 2003 · 5 locations
$659,500 to $1.1M
$30,000
5
5 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
FairDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Costa Vida
6
Total SBA loans
$546K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Costa Vida
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Emerging (3 to 9 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
0.0%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
6
Total Volume
$3.3M
Active Lenders
4
States
4
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 Costa Vida based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
0.0%
10.3% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
6 loans
Across 4 lenders
Lender Diversity
4 lenders
Avg 1.5 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Premium investment
$659,500 to $1,061,000 total
Costa Vida: 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
2017
8 approvals. The best year on record for Costa Vida.
Top SBA State
California
5 SBA financed Costa Vida locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$574K
Median $656K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Costa Vida unit.
Lender Concentration
60.6%
Concentrated
Share of Costa Vida approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Costa Vida's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2017 (8 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 50% of cumulative volume ($2.0M approved). Operator density is highest in California with 5 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $574K, with the median at $656K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 60.6% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$6,827
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
Costa Vida, unit breakdown
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Page Review
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