Brass Tap Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Brass Tap franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Brass Tap discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses average adjusted gross sales for all reporting bars and 2.0 bars by year, plus top/bottom quartile performance. Only 37-51% met average. Cherry-picks full-service 2.0 bars.
What a Brass Tap franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 7% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $792,950 – $1,279,550 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
5% royalty plus 2% marketing fee on adjusted gross sales; $25K franchise fee; substantial training/transfer fees and compliance penalties up to $10K.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Brass Tap system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 53 |
| Ceased operations | 4 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 1 |
| Closure rate | 7.5% of outlets |
4 closures in 2024; only 47% of bars met average sales benchmark.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Brass Tap worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $792,950 | pricier than 87% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 7.5% of outlets | worse than 84% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every other franchises franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Brass Tap
The franchisor's framing: Discloses average adjusted gross sales for all reporting bars and 2.0 bars by year, plus t… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
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Brass Tap franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Brass Tap franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $792,950–$1,279,550, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Brass Tap franchise owners make?
- Discloses average adjusted gross sales for all reporting bars and 2.0 bars by year, plus top/bottom quartile performance. Only 37-51% met average. Cherry-picks full-service 2.0 bars. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Brass Tap franchise fees?
- Brass Tap's FDD discloses a $25,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 7% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 5% royalty plus 2% marketing fee on adjusted gross sales; $25K franchise fee; substantial training/transfer fees and compliance penalties up to $10K.
- What is the Brass Tap franchise profit margin?
- Brass Tap does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses average adjusted gross sales for all reporting bars and 2.0 bars by year, plus top/bottom quartile performance. Only 37-51% met average. Cherry-picks full-service 2.0 bars. Recurring fees alone take about 7% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Brass Tap franchise failure rate?
- 4 closures in 2024; only 47% of bars met average sales benchmark.
- How many Brass Tap locations are there?
- Brass Tap's FDD reports 53 total outlets, with 4 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 1 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Brass Tap have complaints or lawsuits?
- Brass Tap discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Brass Tap franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Brass Tap scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 7% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Brass Tap to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 34114-202505-09 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Brass Tap or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.