Cabin Coffee Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Cabin Coffee franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Cabin Coffee discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Sales range $286,962-$961,962 for brick-and-mortar stores (2024). Excludes grocery locations. Based on 19 franchisees with 3+ years operation. No future performance assurance.
What a Cabin Coffee franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 3% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 9% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $350,000 – $2,000,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
6% royalty + 3% advertising (max $15k/year). Renewal $2k. Transfer $25k. Non-refundable fees.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Cabin Coffee system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 24 |
| Ceased operations | 2 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 1 |
| Closure rate | 8.3% of outlets |
2 franchises ceased operations (2023-2024); minimal terminations/transfers suggest stability.
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 Cabin Coffee worth it? — how it compares to 32 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 9% of sales | steeper than 63% of coffee & donuts franchises |
| Startup cost | from $350,000 | about average (median $350,000) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 8.3% of outlets | about average |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every coffee & donuts franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Cabin Coffee
The franchisor's framing: Sales range $286,962-$961,962 for brick-and-mortar stores (2024). Excludes grocery locatio… 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
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Cabin Coffee franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Cabin Coffee franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $350,000–$2,000,000, including a $40,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Cabin Coffee franchise owners make?
- Sales range $286,962-$961,962 for brick-and-mortar stores (2024). Excludes grocery locations. Based on 19 franchisees with 3+ years operation. No future performance assurance. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Cabin Coffee franchise fees?
- Cabin Coffee's FDD discloses a $40,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 3% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 9% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 6% royalty + 3% advertising (max $15k/year). Renewal $2k. Transfer $25k. Non-refundable fees.
- What is the Cabin Coffee franchise profit margin?
- Cabin Coffee does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Sales range $286,962-$961,962 for brick-and-mortar stores (2024). Excludes grocery locations. Based on 19 franchisees with 3+ years operation. No future performance assurance. Recurring fees alone take about 9% 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 Cabin Coffee franchise failure rate?
- 2 franchises ceased operations (2023-2024); minimal terminations/transfers suggest stability.
- How many Cabin Coffee locations are there?
- Cabin Coffee's FDD reports 24 total outlets, with 2 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 Cabin Coffee have complaints or lawsuits?
- Cabin Coffee 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 Cabin Coffee franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Cabin Coffee scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 9% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Cabin Coffee to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 34853-202510-03 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Cabin Coffee or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.