Honest Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Honest franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Honest 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
No financial performance representations made. Franchisor explicitly states it makes no representations about franchisee future or past outlet performance.
What a Honest 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 | 5.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 1% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 6.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $1,862,000 – $2,689,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty can triple to 16.5% if in default. High proprietary purchase requirements (65-85% of costs). Multiple ancillary fees including testing, training, late payment (20% + interest).
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Honest system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 40 |
| Ceased operations | 2 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 2 |
| Closure rate | 5.0% of outlets |
2 ceased operations (Maryland, Texas 2024); reacquired by franchisor indicates potential underperformance.
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 Honest worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 6.5% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $1,862,000 | pricier than 96% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 5.0% of outlets | worse than 70% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every quick service restaurants franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Honest
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations made. Franchisor explicitly states it makes no re… 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
Honest franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Honest franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $1,862,000–$2,689,000, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Honest franchise owners make?
- Honest 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 Honest franchise fees?
- Honest's FDD discloses a $25,000 initial franchise fee, a 5.5% royalty on gross sales, a 1% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 6.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty can triple to 16.5% if in default. High proprietary purchase requirements (65-85% of costs). Multiple ancillary fees including testing, training, late payment (20% + interest).
- What is the Honest franchise profit margin?
- Honest 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 Honest franchise failure rate?
- 2 ceased operations (Maryland, Texas 2024); reacquired by franchisor indicates potential underperformance.
- How many Honest locations are there?
- Honest's FDD reports 40 total outlets, with 2 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 2 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Honest have complaints or lawsuits?
- Honest 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 Honest franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Honest scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 6.5% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Honest to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Honest or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.