Home › Buyer-Advocate Franchise (Sandwich Shop) › Lee's
The real numbers on owning a Lee's franchise
Buyer-Advocate Franchise (Sandwich Shop) · FDD 2026 · from public state filings
FDisclosure honesty
This franchisor discloses little to no earnings data (Item 19).
★☆☆☆☆FranchiseValidate transparency rating: 1/5
Investment
$209,830–$1,679,500
Total fees
8.9% of sales
Outlets
50
Closure signals
4 ceased, 0 terminated
Lawsuits
1
Is Lee's worth it? How it compares to 21 similar franchises
Ongoing fees
8.9% of sales
about average
Startup cost
from $209,830
cheaper than most (median $436,176)
Disclosure honesty
Grade F
less honest than most of the category
Closure rate
8.0% of outlets
worse than 77% of peers
Disclosed lawsuits
1
about average
Benchmarked against every sandwich & sub shops franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it does not make representations about franchisee financial performance or authorize such representations.
Honesty grade F: the disclosed numbers are incomplete or framed to look better than an owner's real take-home.
Failure & turnover reality (Item 20)
4 closures in 3 years; 9 transfers suggest turnover; modest net growth.
Legal history (Item 3)
1 matters disclosed.
Get the full Lee's validation report — $149
The franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. We do — reconstructed from their own FDD.
Franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it does not ma…
🔒 Real estimated owner take-home (low / median / high) — unlocked in the report
Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI on your investment
Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
Decoded real failure / closure rate
How it ranks vs comparable franchises
Validation-call playbook — who to call + the exact questions
The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $209,830–$1,679,500, including a $50,000 initial franchise fee.
How much do Lee's franchise owners make?
Lee's 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 is the Lee's franchise failure rate?
4 closures in 3 years; 9 transfers suggest turnover; modest net growth.
Is a Lee's franchise worth it?
It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Lee's scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 8.9% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
Own a Lee's? Add your real numbers (anonymous)
We publish only aggregated benchmarks — never your name. Contribute and we'll show you how your numbers compare.
Source: MN CARDS 36151-202604-08 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Lee's or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.