Zero's
The total investment to open a Zero's franchise ranges from $74,280 to $197,840. The initial franchise fee is $20,000.
What is the Zero's franchise?
Zero's is a sandwich shop that sells subs to customers. The estimated total initial investment to open is $74,280 to $197,840, and the initial franchise fee is $20,000.
Zero's was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Loan Activity Score
21/100
SBA Default Rate
40.0%
Active Lenders
14
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, Zero's has 17 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 14 lenders made 25 loans to franchisees of Zero's. PeerSense calculates Zero's's score as 21 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1967 · 17 locations
$74,280 to $197,840
$20,000
17
17 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for Zero's
25
Total SBA loans
$149K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for Zero's
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Established (25 to 99 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
40.0%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
25
Total Volume
$3.7M
Active Lenders
14
States
10
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 Zero's based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
40.0%
29.7% above peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
25 loans
Across 14 lenders
Lender Diversity
14 lenders
Avg 1.8 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Mid range investment
$74,280 to $197,840 total
Zero's: 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
2000
6 approvals. The best year on record for Zero's.
Top SBA State
Virginia
9 SBA financed Zero's locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$183K
Median $1.0M. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own Zero's unit.
Lender Concentration
50%
Concentrated
Share of Zero's approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
Zero's's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2000 (6 approvals). The last five fiscal years account for 4% of cumulative volume ($1.0M approved). Operator density is highest in Virginia with 9 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $183K, with the median at $1.0M. 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
$769
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
Zero's, 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