2 franchise brands scored by real SBA loan performance data.
Showing 1-2 of 2 franchises in Fast-Casual Restaurant
Deciding whether to invest six figures — or more — into a fast-casual restaurant franchise is one of the most consequential financial decisions a person can make. The fast-casual sandwich segment is littered with well-known names, which means standing out requires more than decent food; it requires a brand identity so cohesive and culturally specific that customers seek you out rather than simply walk past. Cheba Hut fills exactly that role. Founded in 1998 by Scott Jennings in Tempe, Arizona, near Arizona State University, the brand was built on a deliberate counter-culture thesis: offer genuinely high-quality submarine sandwiches inside an unapologetically chill, cannabis-themed atmosphere that Jennings himself described as a "subtle F.U. to The Man." That founding philosophy was not a gimmick — it was a differentiation strategy that created a loyal, demographically specific customer base from day one. Jennings relocated company headquarters to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2003, after the first franchise was sold in Boulder, demonstrating early confidence in the replicability of the concept. Cheba Hut Franchising, Inc. was formally incorporated in Arizona on March 2, 2001, and began offering franchises in April 2002, giving the brand more than two decades of franchising experience to draw upon. Today, under the leadership of CEO Marc Torres, Chief Relationship Officer Seth Larsen, and Senior Director of Design and Construction Rocky Gupta, the brand operates over 75 locations across more than 16 states in the United States. Total system sales reached $150 million in 2024, a 23% year-over-year increase, positioning Cheba Hut as one of the faster-growing concepts in the fast-casual sandwich segment. The brand's target of 200 locations and $420 million in system sales by 2030 makes it a franchise opportunity that demands serious independent analysis — which is precisely what follows. The fast-casual dining sector, and specifically the fast-casual sandwich segment, represents one of the most resilient and consistently expanding categories in American foodservice. The U.S. fast-casual restaurant market generates hundreds of billions in annual revenue, with the sandwich and sub segment alone accounting for tens of billions in consumer spending each year. Consumer demand for convenience-forward dining that does not sacrifice food quality has been a secular tailwind for the category for over a decade, and that trend has only accelerated in the post-pandemic environment as diner habits permanently shifted away from full-service formats toward quicker, more flexible options. Cheba Hut benefits from a second, equally powerful macro trend: the ongoing cultural normalization of cannabis across the United States. As more states move toward decriminalization and legalization, the demographic that Cheba Hut has always targeted — younger, experience-oriented consumers who appreciate counter-culture branding — is growing in both size and spending power. Critically, the brand does not sell or serve marijuana products, which means it captures the cultural affinity without the regulatory complexity of cannabis retail. A third structural advantage is Cheba Hut's full bar service model, which most locations offer, including local beers, signature cocktails, and spirits. Full bar integration in a fast-casual format keeps average ticket values elevated, reduces customer churn on slower dayparts, and allows the brand to compete for evening dining occasions that pure sandwich concepts simply cannot access. The competitive landscape in fast-casual sandwiches is highly consolidated at the national level among legacy players, but the experiential, bar-integrated, lifestyle-branded subcategory remains fragmented, which creates the white space Cheba Hut is actively filling. System sales growth of 29% in 2023, followed by 23% in 2024, confirms that the brand is gaining share within this opening. The Cheba Hut franchise cost structure reflects the full-service nature of the concept, and prospective investors should evaluate it with eyes open to both the investment required and the unit economics that justify it. The initial franchise fee is $50,000, which is at the upper end for the sandwich category but consistent with full bar-service, experiential fast-casual formats. Veterans receive a 50% discount on the initial franchise fee, representing a $25,000 reduction that substantially improves early cash flow for qualifying operators. Cheba Hut is currently prioritizing multi-unit candidates willing to commit to a three-store package with a three-year development target, and this commitment may result in a significantly reduced initial franchise fee beyond even the veteran discount. Total initial investment per location ranges from $631,150 to $2,174,000, a spread that reflects variables including geography, local real estate conditions, tenant improvement allowances, and whether a space requires a full build-out or benefits from a conversion. The major cost drivers within that range include leasehold improvements at $275,000 to $1,100,000, furniture, fixtures, décor, and equipment at $150,000 to $325,000, architectural and engineering fees at $17,500 to $50,000, signage at $10,000 to $50,000, and three months of additional operating funds at $50,000 to $100,000. One structural cost advantage that offsets some of this investment is the absence of expensive kitchen equipment: Cheba Hut's operating model requires no flat tops, no deep fryers, and no expensive hood systems, which meaningfully reduces both build-out costs and ongoing maintenance expenses relative to concepts with full hot-line kitchens. The ongoing royalty rate is 5% of revenue, and the national brand fund advertising fee is an additional 5%, bringing the total ongoing fee burden to 10% of gross sales, which is within the normal range for full-service fast-casual concepts with significant brand investment requirements. Cheba Hut requires a minimum net worth of $350,000, and the brand's own guidance suggests ideal owner candidates should carry at least $1 million in liquid capital to ensure adequate capitalization through the ramp-up period. Financing is facilitated through third-party providers, with the brand actively connecting prospective franchisees with preferred lending partners, and the concept's established performance history makes it a credible candidate for SBA-backed financing programs. The daily operational reality of a Cheba Hut franchise is shaped by a deliberately streamlined model that removes the complexity and equipment overhead that burdens many restaurant franchises. Because the concept does not use flat tops, deep fryers, or expensive ventilation systems, the kitchen setup is more approachable for operators without deep restaurant backgrounds, and equipment failure risk is reduced meaningfully relative to full-service kitchen formats. Most locations include full bar service, which requires appropriate licensing and a staff profile that can manage both food service and beverage service professionally — this dual-service requirement adds operational complexity but also drives the ticket averages that make the unit economics compelling. Franchisees receive a comprehensive training program that includes 152 hours of on-the-job training and 40 hours of classroom instruction, for a total of 192 structured training hours, one of the more thorough programs in the fast-casual segment. Training costs are budgeted between $15,000 and $25,000 and are included in the initial investment range. Cheba Hut's corporate support infrastructure has demonstrably matured over recent years, with the brand bringing design and construction management in-house under the direction of Rocky Gupta, which has tightened vendor relationships, improved build-out timelines, and created a more franchisee-aligned approach to new location development. Field support, marketing assistance, technology platform access, and supply chain coordination are all provided as part of the ongoing franchisee relationship. Notably, franchisees are encouraged to incorporate local personality into their shops, including unique "Secret Stash" menu items exclusive to each market, which preserves brand cohesion while allowing operators to build genuine community connection and loyalty. The brand's multi-unit orientation means that new franchisees are typically expected to commit to developing multiple locations, with the three-store package being the current standard entry point for new development agreements. This structure favors operators with the organizational capacity and capitalization to manage growth rather than single-unit lifestyle operators. Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document for Cheba Hut, which means prospective franchisees must rely on the Financial Performance Representations included in the FDD alongside publicly available system-level data for their unit economics analysis. What the publicly available data does show is meaningfully strong. Average net sales per Cheba Hut location exceeded $2.3 million in 2024, a figure the brand characterizes as nearly double that of typical sandwich franchise competitors. One analysis placed average gross revenue per unit at approximately $2,032,130, while broader system reporting confirms average unit volumes consistently above $2 million annually. Total system sales of $150 million across approximately 69 to 75 locations in late 2024 is arithmetically consistent with average unit volumes in the $2 million to $2.3 million range, lending credibility to the brand's own reported AUV figures. Owner-operator estimated earnings, based on publicly available data, fall in the range of $137,216 to $196,022 annually, implying owner earnings margins of approximately 7% to 10% of revenue at the average unit volume, which is reasonable for a full bar-service fast-casual concept carrying 10% in combined royalty and ad fees. The estimated franchise payback period is 8.7 to 10.7 years based on these earnings projections and the investment range, which is a longer payback than simpler, lower-investment concepts but reflects the higher initial build-out and the full-service operational model. For context, same-store sales growth exceeded 16% in 2024, the brand averaged over 13% same-store sales growth over a multi-year period, and store traffic rose 15% in 2024 alone — these are the growth indicators that suggest top-quartile performers within the system are significantly outpacing average unit figures and compressing payback periods accordingly. Cheba Hut's unit count growth trajectory over the past several years tells a clear story of accelerating expansion. The brand opened 16 new shops in 2024 alone, its most productive single-year expansion on record, entering Oklahoma and Iowa as new states in the process. System sales grew 29% in 2023 and 23% in 2024, signaling sustained top-line momentum rather than a single-year spike. As of late 2024 and early 2025, the brand operates over 75 locations across more than 16 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Near-term expansion is well documented: the brand is entering Virginia in 2025 with ten committed locations through franchisee group WAHI Brands Inc., with the first location expected in Richmond or Hampton Roads, and CEO Isaac Montoya has committed to developing up to 35 Cheba Hut shops across Virginia, New Mexico, Texas, and Montana. Montana will see its debut location in Billings, scheduled to open on February 27, 2026. In the greater Phoenix area, two new locations are planned for 2026 — one in Arcadia by late spring and another on Scottsdale Road shortly after. The brand is also actively seeking franchisees in San Diego, Los Angeles County, and Orange County, California, representing three of the largest and highest-demographic-density markets in the country. The competitive moat Cheba Hut is building rests on four pillars: a proprietary brand identity that cannot be replicated by generic sandwich chains, full bar service integration that elevates the competitive category the brand occupies, a growing network of community-engaged operators building local loyalty through market-specific menu differentiation, and an in-house design and construction capability that gives the brand cost and timeline advantages in opening new units. The corporate decision to bring design and construction in-house under Rocky Gupta is a particularly meaningful operational signal — it indicates a mature organization that is proactively removing friction from the franchisee build-out experience. The ideal Cheba Hut franchisee is not a passive investor or a first-time operator looking to test the waters with a single location. The brand's current development model explicitly targets candidates willing to commit to a three-store development package with a three-year build timeline, which requires both the financial capacity to sustain simultaneous multi-unit development and the operational confidence to manage a bar-service fast-casual concept at scale. A net worth minimum of $350,000 is required, and the brand's own guidance points toward $1 million in liquid capital as the appropriate threshold for a seriously capitalized candidate. Ideal franchisees tend to have management backgrounds, community ties in their target markets, and an authentic affinity for the brand's counter-culture identity — operators who genuinely connect with the Cheba Hut ethos build the local loyalty that drives the above-average same-store sales growth the system has demonstrated consistently. Geographic availability is broad, with the brand actively developing in Virginia, Montana, California's major metros, Arizona's Phoenix suburbs, and likely additional states as the 200-location target by 2030 requires net new unit additions averaging roughly 20 to 25 per year through the end of the decade. The franchise agreement term structure is not publicly detailed outside the FDD, which contains the complete terms for renewal, transfer, and resale — all of which should be reviewed with a franchise attorney as part of standard due diligence. From signing to opening, build-out timelines will vary based on the complexity of the space selected, but the in-house construction management team is designed to streamline this process. The Cheba Hut franchise opportunity represents a genuinely differentiated investment thesis in an otherwise crowded fast-casual sandwich category. The combination of a 26-year brand history, a proven AUV exceeding $2.3 million, 23% year-over-year system sales growth in 2024, 16-plus percent same-store sales growth, and an aggressive but well-documented expansion roadmap toward 200 units and $420 million in system sales by 2030 creates a data profile that warrants serious evaluation by experienced multi-unit operators. The total investment range of $631,150 to $2,174,000 is meaningful capital, but it is deployed into a concept with bar service, a proprietary brand identity, and unit volumes that are nearly double the sandwich category average — context that changes the risk-adjusted calculus considerably. Like any franchise investment of this scale, due diligence must go beyond marketing materials and include a thorough review of the Franchise Disclosure Document, direct conversations with existing franchisees, analysis of market-specific unit performance data, and an honest assessment of the operator's own capital position and management capacity. 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 Cheba Hut against other fast-casual franchise opportunities across every material dimension. Explore the complete Cheba Hut franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data and make your investment decision from a position of analytical confidence.
What does a $5,000 investment, a borrowed bagel shop kitchen, and a late-night menu built for college cravings have in common? They are the origin story of one of the most unconventional franchise success stories in the fast-casual restaurant industry. Fat Shack was founded in February 2010 by Tom Armenti, a marketing graduate of The College of New Jersey who launched the concept with nothing more than five thousand dollars and a shared commercial kitchen in Ramsey, New Jersey, operating exclusively from 6 PM to 4 AM to capture the late-night dining crowd. Armenti relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado, in August 2011 and opened the first full-time Fat Shack restaurant, establishing the operational blueprint that would eventually attract franchise investors across the country. By 2013, Armenti had brought on college classmate Kevin Gabauer, who left a career in corporate America to help scale the brand, and by 2015, Fat Shack had begun offering franchise opportunities to outside operators. The company's headquarters is now located in Denver, Colorado, and as of September 2025, Fat Shack operates 31 corporate and franchise-owned restaurants across fourteen states, with 24 of those units franchised and 5 company-owned. The brand's appearance on Shark Tank in May 2019 marked a pivotal inflection point when investor Mark Cuban committed $250,000 for 15% equity in the company, providing both capital and a high-profile mentorship platform that the brand has leveraged actively in its franchise recruitment strategy. For investors evaluating the Fat Shack franchise opportunity, this is a brand that carved out a defensible niche in the fast-casual segment by targeting late-night dining culture, college towns, and the underserved demand for indulgent, made-to-order comfort food after midnight. This analysis is independent research, not marketing copy, and is designed to give serious franchise investors the data they need to evaluate Fat Shack on its merits. The quick-service and fast-casual restaurant industry represents one of the most resilient and actively franchised sectors in the American economy, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in annual revenue and sustaining demand through recessions, supply chain disruptions, and pandemic-era disruptions that decimated full-service dining. Within that broader QSR landscape, the late-night and indulgent comfort food segment has emerged as a structural niche rather than a cyclical trend. Consumer behavior data consistently shows that late-night food demand is heavily concentrated around college campuses, entertainment corridors, and urban areas with active nightlife economies, and that the 18-to-35 demographic that anchors this spending segment has demonstrated extraordinary loyalty to brands that reliably satisfy post-midnight cravings. Fat Shack's entire operational thesis is built around this behavioral reality, with menus engineered to deliver what the brand's own positioning describes as satisfaction for late-night munchie cravings, featuring signature Fat Sandwiches, burgers, chicken wings, deep-fried sides including cheesecake bites and Oreos, and milkshakes. The competitive dynamics within this niche are notably fragmented, with few nationally scaled franchise systems specifically targeting late-night fast-casual dining, which creates a first-mover advantage for operators who enter college markets and high-traffic nightlife zones before competitors establish density. The fast-casual segment as a whole has demonstrated consistent growth above the broader restaurant industry average, driven by consumers who want food quality above fast food but at prices and convenience levels below full-service dining. Fat Shack's 2024 annual revenue is estimated at $17.54 million across its system, and the brand has recorded a 777.1% growth rate since its first quarter in business according to Kona Equity data, a trajectory that signals both a favorable market environment and effective brand-level execution. The macro tailwinds for this category include continued urbanization of college markets, growth in delivery and late-night takeout demand, and the ongoing consumer shift toward food experiences that offer personality and indulgence rather than the sanitized uniformity of legacy QSR chains. The Fat Shack franchise cost structure reflects a brand that has matured beyond its startup-era economics while remaining accessible relative to many fast-casual concepts in the broader franchise market. The initial franchise fee is $35,000, a figure that has increased substantially from the $18,000 fee offered at the time of the Shark Tank appearance in May 2019 and the $25,000 figure referenced in early FDD filings, signaling that the franchisor has recalibrated its pricing to reflect the brand's growing recognition and the value of the Mark Cuban mentorship component embedded in the system. The total Fat Shack franchise investment ranges from $183,000 to $482,000 based on the most current Franchise Disclosure Document data, a spread that is driven by variables including lease costs ranging from $4,000 to $15,000, leasehold improvements and space acquisition ranging from $50,000 to $200,000, furnishings and equipment ranging from $40,000 to $90,000, architectural and professional fees ranging from $2,500 to $20,000, and a POS system costing between $6,000 and $12,000. Additional line items include opening inventory and supplies ranging from $6,000 to $15,000, a security surveillance system between $500 and $4,000, signage between $5,000 and $12,500, computer and office equipment between $750 and $2,000, smallwares and print materials at approximately $9,500, and security deposits and business licenses ranging from $3,000 to $10,000. The ongoing royalty rate is 6% of gross sales, which is consistent with the fast-casual industry standard and comparable to similarly scaled franchise systems in the segment. There is currently no mandatory advertising or marketing fund contribution, which represents a meaningful cost advantage for franchisees in their early operating years, though the franchisor reserves the right to implement a brand fund contribution of up to 1.5% of gross sales in the future. At the low end of the investment range, Fat Shack represents a relatively accessible entry point for the fast-casual category, and the absence of a mandatory ad fund in the current structure reduces total effective fees below those of many competing systems. The brand's backing from Mark Cuban, who committed $250,000 for 15% equity, also provides a level of institutional credibility that may support SBA loan conversations for qualified borrowers evaluating financing structures. Daily operations at a Fat Shack franchised restaurant are structured around a fast-casual service model with a strong emphasis on late-night throughput, which fundamentally shapes the staffing requirements, shift schedules, and operational rhythms that franchisees should expect to manage. The core operating hours are designed to capture the late-night daypart that defines the brand's identity, which means franchisees and their general managers must be prepared to staff and supervise operations during hours that most fast-casual competitors are closed, creating both a competitive advantage in the marketplace and a staffing challenge that requires deliberate hiring and retention strategies. Fat Shack provides an initial training program of approximately two weeks conducted at a corporate location, covering operations, brand standards, and the proprietary menu execution standards that define the guest experience. Franchisees and their general managers may also be required to complete a food safety and sanitation certification, either through a Fat Shack-approved program or a recognized third-party provider, prior to opening. Ongoing support includes a library of operational resources, technology and computer support, and access to Mark Cuban's mentorship network, which is an unusual and genuinely differentiated support element relative to what most emerging franchise systems offer at this investment level. Franchisees or their management teams may be required to attend up to two additional training events or conferences per year, at a cost of up to $1,000 per event, covering operational updates, marketing strategy, and brand standards. Territory protection is structured around a three-mile radius from the restaurant's front door, within which the franchisor commits not to open or authorize another Fat Shack location as long as the franchisee remains in substantial compliance with the franchise agreement, providing meaningful geographic exclusivity for operators in markets with appropriate population density and nightlife infrastructure. Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Fat Shack Franchise Disclosure Document, which means prospective franchisees must evaluate unit-level economics using publicly available system-wide data and third-party estimates rather than franchisor-validated figures. That said, the available data provides a reasonably detailed picture of Fat Shack franchise revenue performance over time. In 2021, each Fat Shack store averaged approximately $620,000 in annual sales, a figure that reflected 26% sales growth over the preceding three years. By 2023, the median gross revenue for Fat Shack franchises had climbed to $889,873, a significant step-up that suggests meaningful same-store sales growth within the system. The most current average unit volume data available indicates that a Fat Shack franchised restaurant generates approximately $805,000 in annual revenue, positioning the brand competitively within the broader fast-casual segment. An earlier estimate from the 2020 FDD Item 19 suggested an average revenue figure of approximately $1,091,986 for individual units, though this figure may reflect a smaller, higher-performing subset of the system at that time. Estimated franchisee earnings, based on available data, range from approximately $96,580 to $120,725 annually, and the franchise payback period is estimated at 3.6 to 5.6 years depending on the investment level and unit performance. The system-wide annual franchise revenue reached $17.54 million as of the most recent available data, spread across a network that includes 24 franchised units. At the time of the May 2019 Shark Tank appearance, Fat Shack had already generated over $22 million in total lifetime sales with $5.7 million in the preceding year alone, and even the lowest-performing location in the system was described as profitable, which is a meaningful data point for investors assessing downside risk in a brand at this stage of development. Fat Shack's growth trajectory from 11 locations at the time of its Shark Tank appearance in May 2019 to 31 locations across 14 states by September 2025 reflects a deliberate, geographically staged expansion that has prioritized college towns and late-night market density over rapid unit volume. The brand crossed 20 locations by July 2020, reached 23 stores across 11 states by June 2021, grew to 29 stores in 13 states by March 2022, and added its 31st location with the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, opening in late 2025, marking the brand's entry into that state. Active states as of mid-2025 include Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, with South Dakota representing the most recent geographic expansion. The company's stated strategic target is to grow from approximately 30 locations to 100, with Tom Armenti expressing specific goals of opening 50 to 60 new franchises in the near future and the franchise pipeline described as robust by the franchisor. Menu innovation is an active part of the brand's competitive strategy, with limited-time offerings such as Fat Stacks, quarterly testing of new sandwich builds including Buffalo Mac and Cheese and Breakfast Sandwich mashups, seasonal items like Spooky Deep Fried Oreos, and ongoing milkshake flavor collaborations designed to drive social media engagement and repeat visits. The brand was recognized as a Buzzworthy Brand by Restaurant Business magazine in 2021, and a new corporate location launched in Melbourne, Florida, in late May 2025, demonstrating that company-owned unit development remains an active component of the growth strategy alongside franchising. The competitive moat for Fat Shack is built on three intersecting elements: a differentiated late-night positioning that faces limited direct national franchise competition, Mark Cuban's ongoing mentorship and credibility as a brand amplifier, and a menu identity centered on indulgent, shareable, social-media-native food that aligns naturally with the 18-to-35 demographic that dominates the late-night dining occasion. The ideal Fat Shack franchise candidate is an owner-operator with an entrepreneurial orientation, genuine enthusiasm for the brand's food culture, and the financial capacity to invest between $183,000 and $482,000 in a single-unit buildout. Tom Armenti and Kevin Gabauer have both articulated a preference for franchisees who are young, driven entrepreneurs interested in building their own businesses, reflecting the founders' own origin story as first-time operators who built something meaningful from a minimal starting position. The franchise system does not appear to impose formal requirements for prior restaurant industry experience, making it potentially accessible to career-changers from corporate backgrounds, though candidates with food service, hospitality, or retail management experience will likely navigate the operational learning curve more efficiently. Available territories are concentrated in states identified by Fat Shack as underserved late-night markets, including South Dakota, Utah, and additional college-town corridors where the brand has not yet established density. Markets that perform best for Fat Shack are those with large university populations, active nightlife economies, and limited existing competition in the late-night fast-casual segment, making college towns with 15,000 or more enrolled students a natural target market for new franchise development. The three-mile protected territory radius provides meaningful exclusivity in appropriately sized markets, and franchisees who secure locations adjacent to major university campuses or entertainment districts will be positioned to maximize the brand's core late-night traffic opportunity. Multi-unit development is not explicitly mandated in the current franchise structure, though the brand's growth targets suggest that experienced franchisees who execute well on a first location may have meaningful opportunity to expand within their protected geographies. For investors conducting serious due diligence on the Fat Shack franchise opportunity, the investment thesis rests on several compounding factors that warrant careful analysis rather than quick dismissal or quick enthusiasm. The brand occupies a genuinely differentiated position in the fast-casual segment, operating in the late-night daypart where national franchise competition is sparse, generating median franchise revenue of $889,873 in 2023 and an estimated average unit volume of $805,000 in the most current data available, and operating with a royalty structure of 6% and no current mandatory advertising fund that keeps the total fee burden below many comparable fast-casual systems. The Mark Cuban investment of $250,000 for 15% equity in May 2019 provided both capital and a credibility signal that has meaningfully supported franchise recruitment, and the brand's 777.1% growth rate since inception reflects a combination of favorable market positioning and competent franchise system development. The path from 31 units to the stated 100-unit target represents substantial franchise development opportunity for investors who enter markets before the brand achieves saturation, particularly in the identified priority states of South Dakota, Utah, and additional college markets. At the same time, investors should note that Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current FDD, that the investment range of $183,000 to $482,000 carries meaningful variance depending on location and buildout requirements, and that the late-night operating model creates staffing dynamics that require careful local execution. 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 Fat Shack against competing fast-casual franchise systems across every relevant investment dimension. Explore the complete Fat Shack franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.
Other franchise sites rely on marketing materials. We use real SBA lending data to show you what's actually happening.
See actual SBA loan default rates for every franchise brand. Know which brands have borrowers who repay — and which don't.
Discover which SBA lenders fund each brand, their approval volumes, and default performance. Get matched with the right lender.
Compare any franchise against its industry benchmarks. See if it outperforms or underperforms the sector average.
The PeerSense Franchise Directory is the most comprehensive data-driven franchise research tool available. With over 6,300 franchise brands scored by real SBA data and 133,000+ mapped locations, each profile includes our proprietary Franchise Performance Index (FPI), composite health scores, SBA lending data, geographic distribution, and FDD-sourced investment details.
Unlike other franchise directories, PeerSense uses real SBA loan performance data to evaluate franchise brands. Our data comes from 100+ industry sectors and 899+ SBA lenders, giving you an objective, data-backed view of franchise performance.
The FPI is a proprietary scoring system that evaluates franchise brands on a 0-100 scale based on SBA loan repayment performance, lender diversity, geographic reach, system maturity, lending velocity, and financial transparency.
Start by browsing popular categories like Restaurants, Hotels, Fitness Centers, or Child Day Care. You can also search by name, filter by investment range, and sort by FPI score to find top performers.
Once you find a franchise, explore its full profile for SBA lending history, health scores, FDD fees, and revenue data. Then check industry benchmarks to compare it against the sector, or find specialized SBA lenders who fund that brand. Looking to buy? Browse businesses for sale with data-backed valuations.
Found the right franchise? PeerSense connects you with 500+ capital sources to fund your deal. Explore financing solutions matched to franchise acquisitions.