WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants

Should you invest in a franchise that earns its living by selling other people's restaurants? That is the precise and surprisingly powerful question at the heart of the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise opportunity, a concept that turns the perpetual churn of the American restaurant industry into a scalable, commission-based business model. Founded by Robin and Eric Gagnon, who are recognized nationally as the most prolific restaurant brokers in the United States, WSR Franchise, LLC was officially organized as a Georgia limited liability company on July 26, 2011, and began offering franchises for Restaurant Brokerage Businesses in August of that same year. The company's roots in the industry, however, predate the franchise launch by more than a decade, giving the brand over two decades of transactional expertise in restaurant mergers, acquisitions, and sales. Headquartered in Palm Coast, Florida, with principal addresses at 6 Meridian Home Ln., Suite 101, Palm Coast, FL 32137, and a secondary address at 2561 Moody Boulevard, Suite B, Flagler Beach, Florida 32136, the corporate office employs approximately 10 people as of December 2022. Robin Gagnon serves as Co-Founder and CEO, while Eric Gagnon serves as Co-Founder, and together they have built a franchise system that now operates across 45 states, comprising 42 open franchisee-owned locations and 3 corporate locations. The WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise occupies an extraordinarily specific niche: it is the only franchise system in the United States exclusively dedicated to the brokerage and sale of restaurants as businesses. That singular focus creates a defensible market position that generalist business brokerages simply cannot replicate, and it is the foundation of the brand's entire investment thesis.

The industry backdrop for the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise is both enormous and structurally favorable in ways that most investors fail to appreciate at first glance. America hosts nearly one million restaurants, and industry data indicates that approximately 20% of those establishments are for sale at any given point in time, which means the addressable transaction pipeline consists of roughly 200,000 restaurants in active or near-active sale status at any given moment. Restaurants and food service concepts constitute more than 28% of all franchise locations in the United States, and the total number of independent and franchised restaurant units across the country exceeds 750,000. What makes the market particularly compelling for a brokerage model is that restaurant ownership is defined by high turnover: owners retire, partnerships dissolve, concepts pivot, and economic pressures force sales across every segment from quick-service to fine dining. The broader business-for-sale market experienced flat performance for restaurant transactions in 2024, which on the surface sounds discouraging, but that same period saw median restaurant sale prices rise 5%, climbing from $215,000 to $225,000 nationwide. Cash flow at the unit level within the broader restaurant sector rose 4% year-over-year in 2024, even as median revenue for the underlying restaurant businesses dipped 4%, indicating a compression in cost structures that ultimately supports transaction valuations. The business brokerage industry as a whole is fragmented, with no single dominant national player serving the restaurant-specific segment, a structural gap that We Sell Restaurants has deliberately engineered its entire model to fill. The company identifies the Southeast and Mountain West as particularly underserved regions where demand for professional restaurant brokerage services is growing fastest, and its selective expansion strategy targets mid-to-large metropolitan markets with high restaurant density, active commercial real estate markets, and favorable demographic trends that support strong small business activity.

The WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise cost structure reflects the white-collar, service-based nature of the business model, which requires no physical storefront, no food inventory, and no kitchen equipment. According to the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the initial franchise fee is $49,750, a one-time upfront payment due at signing that grants the franchisee the right to use the We Sell Restaurants trademarks, name, and proprietary business systems within an exclusive territory. The total WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise investment, per the 2025 FDD analysis, ranges from approximately $106,000 to $150,000, covering training, technology, marketing materials, and initial operational expenses, with the precise figure depending on market size, territory composition, and franchisee resources. Specific line items from the FDD cost schedule include travel and living expenses during training at $1,500 to $3,000, an initial direct mail market-opening campaign at $2,500, additional first-year marketing expenses of up to $25,000, computer hardware and software at $1,100 to $4,500, a website setup fee of $500, and office equipment and supplies at $350 to $800. Required working capital is estimated at $10,000 to $30,000, a range that reflects the commission-based revenue cycle where income is realized at transaction close rather than daily. The ongoing royalty rate is 15% on commissions earned, a figure that is meaningfully higher than the 4% to 8% royalty range typical of product- or food-based franchises, but one that must be evaluated in the context of a brokerage model where gross commission income can reach the six-figure range annually. Franchisees also pay a $750 monthly marketing fee per territory to support national and local marketing initiatives. There is no requirement for a physical retail lease, commercial build-out, or food service equipment, which structurally reduces the capital burden relative to brick-and-mortar franchise concepts and positions the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise investment as highly accessible for professionals transitioning from corporate careers in real estate, hospitality, finance, or sales.

The operating model of the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise is built around a single, highly skilled owner-operator working within a defined geographic territory to list, market, and sell restaurant businesses on behalf of sellers, while simultaneously representing buyers seeking to acquire existing restaurant operations. Daily operations involve a combination of business development outreach to restaurant owners, valuation and listing preparation, buyer qualification, deal negotiation, and transaction management through to closing. The staffing model is intentionally lean: the franchisee is the primary revenue-generating professional, and the home-office or small commercial office format eliminates the fixed labor costs associated with retail or food service operations. One of the most distinctive elements of the support structure is the Certified Restaurant Broker program, which We Sell Restaurants describes as the only program of its kind in the nation, involving intensive training, formal testing, and a dedicated curriculum designed to certify franchisees as expert restaurant brokers before they enter the market. Training preparation covers getting franchisees "up to speed and ready" for their own franchise, and Franchise Business Review surveys consistently show that We Sell Restaurants exceeds industry benchmarks in training and ongoing support quality. Robin and Eric Gagnon are described by franchisees as personally accessible and "always there to help with those challenges," which is consistent with a founder-led brand at this stage of its growth. The franchisor provides proprietary technology platforms and a streamlined transaction management process that allows franchisees to leverage the brand's operational systems rather than building independent infrastructure. Franchisees operate within exclusive territories, and the system accommodates multi-territory ownership, as evidenced by existing franchisee expansions including Jeff Marcus, who added Denver, Colorado to his existing portfolio in February 2025. The model is fundamentally owner-operator in structure, with the franchisee's professional expertise, local network, and sales skills being the primary drivers of business performance.

The financial performance data disclosed by WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants in Item 19 of its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document provides a meaningful and detailed picture of what franchisees are generating at the unit level. For fiscal year 2024, all franchisee-owned Restaurant Brokerage Businesses that were open for the entire year reported an average Gross Commission Income of $263,253. The average transaction value that year was $28,918, and the average number of transactions per franchisee was 9. The median Gross Commission Income was $136,413, with a median per-transaction figure of $21,750. The spread between the average and median figures, roughly $126,840, indicates meaningful performance variation across the franchisee base, which is typical of service businesses where individual sales productivity, local market depth, and franchisee tenure create wide performance distributions. The 2023 FDD reported an even stronger average of $273,251 in Gross Commission Income, and noted that over 40% of all franchisees in that period brokered more than one million dollars in total restaurant sales, a benchmark that speaks to the transaction volumes being generated at the top of the system. In 2021, the average revenue per unit was $209,292, which when combined with the 2023 and 2024 figures suggests a multi-year growth trend in per-unit revenue that has remained above the $200,000 threshold consistently. A franchisee generating the 2024 average of $263,253 in gross commissions and paying the 15% royalty would remit approximately $39,488 in royalties, plus $9,000 in annual marketing fees per territory, leaving gross earnings before operating expenses of approximately $214,765. The commission-based model means that payback of the initial investment is heavily dependent on transaction volume and deal velocity, but the relatively low capital requirements of $106,000 to $150,000 combined with the average commission figures suggest a plausible payback window well within the initial franchise term for franchisees who execute the system consistently.

The growth trajectory of the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise over the past five years demonstrates a deliberate and accelerating expansion pattern that reflects increasing market confidence in the model. The system maintained 16 units at the close of both 2020 and 2021, then surged to 22 units by the end of 2022, effectively doubling its franchised footprint within a single year. In 2021 alone, the company awarded a dozen new franchises covering 15 territories. The brand targeted adding 10 franchisees in 2023, and by April of that year had already confirmed five territory sales. In 2024, the system exceeded its expansion goals by entering 11 new markets, and notably, three existing franchisees reinvested in additional territories, a signal of internal system satisfaction that is among the strongest validation metrics available in franchise due diligence. The February 2025 announcement of three new franchise agreements, including new offices in Tucson, Arizona and Aurora, Colorado, and an expansion for franchisee Jeff Marcus into Denver, Colorado, confirms that the 2025 growth momentum has continued. The company's stated target is to reach 90 franchise partners operating across 107 territories by 2030, which would require adding approximately 48 new franchisees over six years, an achievable pace given recent trajectory. The competitive moat for We Sell Restaurants derives from three structural advantages: exclusive brand specialization in the restaurant category, the proprietary Certified Restaurant Broker program that competitors cannot replicate, and the network effect of a national system that generates buyer and seller referrals across geographic boundaries. In 2024, the brand achieved a 17.7% increase in transaction count at a time when the broader industry experienced flat restaurant transaction volume, and average selling prices for restaurants brokered by We Sell Restaurants rose 10.9%, from $247,634 to $274,652, outperforming the national median increase of 5% by more than double.

The ideal candidate for the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise opportunity is a credentialed professional with a background in business brokerage, commercial real estate, hospitality management, finance, or high-value consultative sales. There is no requirement to have previously owned a restaurant, but candidates must demonstrate comfort with complex, relationship-driven sales processes and the patience to manage transaction timelines that can span multiple months from listing to close. The owner-operator structure means this is not an absentee investment and requires the franchisee's personal professional engagement as the primary driver of revenue. Multi-territory ownership is explicitly supported and encouraged, as demonstrated by the company's history of franchisee reinvestment and expansion. Key markets currently active within the system include Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Colorado, with the franchisor's expansion strategy prioritizing the Southeast and Mountain West for new territory awards. The franchise agreement grants exclusive geographic territory rights, and territories are defined to capture mid-to-large metropolitan markets with strong food service sectors and active M&A markets. From signing to first transaction, the timeline is shaped primarily by training completion and initial market outreach, with the Certified Restaurant Broker program providing a structured on-ramp before a franchisee begins active deal work. Available territories remain open across significant portions of the country given that the current system of 45 locations across 42 franchise and 3 corporate locations covers only a fraction of the 90-partner, 107-territory goal set for 2030.

Any serious investor evaluating the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise opportunity is making a bet on three converging forces: the perpetual liquidity of the American restaurant industry, the growing professionalization of business brokerage as a service category, and the proprietary positioning of a brand that has spent more than two decades building systems, credentials, and network effects that a solo broker or new entrant could not replicate. The Item 19 data showing an average gross commission income of $263,253 in 2024, against an initial investment range of $106,000 to $150,000, provides a starting framework for return analysis, though individual outcomes will always vary based on market conditions, franchisee execution, and deal velocity. The brand's outperformance of the broader market in 2024, with 17.7% transaction growth against a flat industry, suggests that the systems and brand recognition translate into real competitive advantage at the local market level. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark the WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise investment against comparable service-based franchise concepts across cost, revenue performance, and growth metrics. PeerSense's independent analysis framework exists specifically for investors who need facts rather than franchise sales pitches, and the depth of data available on the platform is unmatched by any other franchise research resource. Explore the complete WSR Franchise, LLC We Sell Restaurants franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.