Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar
The total investment to open a Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar franchise ranges from $125,000 to $528,500. The initial franchise fee is $25,000. Ongoing royalties are 6%.
What is the Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar franchise?
Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar is a cafe that sells gelato and crepes to people looking for a dessert or casual cafe stop. The estimated total initial investment is $125,000 to $528,500, and the initial franchise fee is $25,000.
The ongoing royalty is 6 percent of sales. The brand is headquartered in Northridge, California.
Loan Activity Score
20/100
SBA Default Rate
33.3%
Active Lenders
6
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar has 4 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 6 lenders made 6 loans to franchisees of Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar. PeerSense calculates Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar's score as 20 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
4 locations
$125,000 to $528,500
$25,000
4
4 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar
6
Total SBA loans
$292K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar
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
33.3%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
6
Total Volume
$1.8M
Active Lenders
6
1 selective
States
2
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 Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
33.3%
23.0% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
6 loans
Across 6 lenders
Lender Diversity
6 lenders
Avg 1.0 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Significant investment
$125,000 to $528,500 total
Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar: 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
2007
5 approvals. The best year on record for Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar.
Top SBA State
California
5 SBA financed Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$292K
Median $223K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar unit.
Lender Concentration
50%
Concentrated
Share of Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2007 (5 approvals). Operator density is highest in California with 5 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $292K, with the median at $223K. Lender mix is concentrated: the top three SBA lenders account for 50% of approvals. Credit decisions concentrate with a small group of incumbents.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$1,294
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
Melt Cafe & Gelato Bar, 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; 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