Dirt Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Dirt franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2024), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Dirt discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Franchisor explicitly declines to provide any financial performance representations, projections, or income estimates for franchisees.
What a Dirt franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 4% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 10% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $153,600 – $510,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Ongoing: 6% royalty + 4% advertising + $350/mo technology + $150-200/mo CRM software + multiple compliance/training fees.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Dirt system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 69 |
| Ceased operations | 9 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 13.0% of outlets |
9 ceased operations in 2024; no terminations; high early-stage instability.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2024. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Dirt worth it? — how it compares to 59 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 10% of sales | steeper than 89% of bakery, dessert & ice cream franchises |
| Startup cost | from $153,600 | cheaper than most (median $209,354) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 13.0% of outlets | worse than 89% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
Benchmarked against every bakery, dessert & ice cream franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Dirt
The franchisor's framing: Franchisor explicitly declines to provide any financial performance representations, proje… 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
Dirt franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Dirt franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $153,600–$510,000, including a $35,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Dirt franchise owners make?
- Dirt discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the Dirt franchise fees?
- Dirt's FDD discloses a $35,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 4% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 10% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Ongoing: 6% royalty + 4% advertising + $350/mo technology + $150-200/mo CRM software + multiple compliance/training fees.
- What is the Dirt franchise profit margin?
- Dirt discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the Dirt franchise failure rate?
- 9 ceased operations in 2024; no terminations; high early-stage instability.
- How many Dirt locations are there?
- Dirt's FDD reports 69 total outlets, with 9 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Dirt have complaints or lawsuits?
- Dirt discloses 1 legal matter in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Dirt franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Dirt scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 10% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Dirt to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 32511-202410-06 (Clean FDD 2024). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Dirt or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.