FRANCHISE·WATCH·DESK

Verified — real FDD extraction

Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory under this name — though SBA loans to its franchisees exist; verify eligibility with your lender

Beef-a-Roo

Food & Dining · independent · est. —

Beef-a-Roo is a fast-casual restaurant chain known for roast beef sandwiches, burgers, fries, and cheese fries. It's a family-friendly counter-service eatery. A franchisee operates a restaurant location, managing the kitchen, staff, and daily service.

New to franchising? Start here

A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.

Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:

  • Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
  • Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
  • Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).

The verdict

Not enough disclosure

Distress

0
STABLE

No verified FDD extraction to judge from. Any figures shown are labelled sample data or independent federal records.

Exit rate · latest year

Not disclosed

Cost to open

$467K–$1.4M

Item 7 total investment range

SBA loan defaults

Too few resolved

1 loans exist; too few resolved to rate

Behind the verdict

the record, factor by factor · Item 20

hi-1.0.0
Net unit growth35%

3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1

Fair
Exit quality25%

terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3

Strong
Transfer / churn15%

transfers vs. base · Table 3

Fair
Promise-keeping10%

actual vs. projected openings · Table 5

Weak
Transparency15%

Item 19 disclosure + completeness

Strong

Systemwide units

2021–2023

0.0%
820218202282023

Survival record

FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year

In fiscal 2023, 0 of 0 franchised outlets left the system. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.

Show the outlet tables
Status (FTC)202120222023
Outlets at start788
Opened000
Transfers000
Terminations000
Non-renewals000
Reacquired by franchisor000
Ceased — other reasons000
Outlets at end888
Net change+100

The lender's view

SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present

Banks have made 1 SBA-backed loans to Beef-a-Roo franchisees since 2024. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.

Charge-off rate

0 resolved · too thin to rate

Loss given default

avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $

Expected loss

default rate × loss severity

Avg. loan · FY2020+

$650,000

what recent franchisees borrowed

Median time to default

approval → charge-off, defaulted loans

Lenders · FY21+ vs FY16–20

distinct banks lending

Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)

SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO BEEF-A-ROO BY FRANCHISE NAME · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL

What it costs — and what it drags

FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty

Buying in means a $50K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $467K–$1.4M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.

To open (Item 7)

$467K–$1.4M

all-in investment range

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$50K

upfront, one-time

Royalty (Item 6)

6%

of sales, ongoing

If a unit does this in annual sales…$1M/yr

Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.

Royalty you'd pay / yr

$60K

6% of sales, before profit

Over a 10-yr term

$600K

royalties alone, excl. ad fund

This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.

Build a real pro-forma for Beef-a-Roo with an independent CPA

Distress signals

news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits

No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for Beef-a-Roo. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.

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A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Beef-a-Roo's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.

Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →

Beef-a-Roo franchise questions, answered from the filings

How much does a Beef-a-Roo franchise cost?

Per Beef-a-Roo's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $50K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $467K–$1.4M (Item 7).

What royalty does Beef-a-Roo charge?

Beef-a-Roo charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.

Does Beef-a-Roo disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes — Beef-a-Roo makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.

Is Beef-a-Roo a good franchise to buy? Health score, exit rate & costs (2026) · Franchise Watch Desk