Waffle House
The total investment to open a Waffle House franchise ranges from $47,000 to $124,740. The initial franchise fee is $68,000.
What is the Waffle House franchise?
Waffle House is a sit down restaurant where customers order meals with table service. The estimated total initial investment is $47,000 to $124,740, and the initial franchise fee is $68,000.
The company is headquartered in SPRINGFIELD, MO. It was founded in 1955.
Loan Activity Score
29/100
SBA Default Rate
8.3%
Active Lenders
8
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Waffle House has 7 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 8 lenders made 12 loans to franchisees of Waffle House. PeerSense calculates Waffle House's score as 29 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1955 · 7 locations
$47,000 to $124,740
$68,000
7
7 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Waffle House
12
Total SBA loans
$97K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Waffle House
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
8.3%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
12
Total Volume
$1.2M
Active Lenders
8
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 Waffle House based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
8.3%
2.0% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
12 loans
Across 8 lenders
Lender Diversity
8 lenders
Avg 1.5 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Low cost entry
$47,000 to $124,740 total
Waffle House: 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
2004
3 approvals. The best year on record for Waffle House.
Top SBA State
Missouri
5 SBA financed Waffle House locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$108K
Median $107K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Waffle House unit.
Lender Concentration
50%
Concentrated
Share of Waffle House approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Waffle House's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2004 (3 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 8% of cumulative volume ($250K approved). Operator density is highest in Missouri with 5 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $108K, with the median at $107K. 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
$487
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
Waffle House, 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