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
ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP
Food & Dining · independent · est. —
Erbert and Gerbert's is a sandwich shop chain serving made-to-order subs, clubs, and soups for dine-in, takeout, and delivery. A franchisee runs a sandwich restaurant, managing prep, counter staff, and delivery operations.
ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP net unit count declined -11.1% from 2021–2023 per its FDD Item 20.
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
Showing strain
Distress
The disclosed record shows weakness — shrinking units, elevated exits, or churn — worth reading closely before going further.
Exit rate · latest year
10.8%
vs 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems
Cost to open
$194K–$460K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
Too few resolved
12 loans exist; too few resolved to rate
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2021–2023
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2023, 7 of 65 franchised outlets left the system — a 10.8% annualized exit rate, vs 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 76 | 72 | 68 |
| Opened | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Transfers | 2 | 11 | 4 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 7 | 4 | 7 |
| Outlets at end | 72 | 68 | 64 |
| Net change | -4 | -4 | -4 |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan performance · FY1991–present
Banks have made 12 SBA-backed loans to ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP franchisees since 2019. Most are still open, so there is not yet a resolved cohort large enough to rate.
—
1 resolved · too thin to rate
—
avg. charged-off $ ÷ approved $
—
default rate × loss severity
$175,000
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
approval → charge-off, defaulted loans
3 vs 3
distinct banks still lending
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%)
Loan performance by state
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP 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 $30K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $194K–$460K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$194K–$460K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$30K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
6%
of sales, ongoing
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 ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP with an independent CPAModeled risk
FDD Risk Score · modeled from the public record
The public record puts this brand toward the riskier end of the systems we score — but the evidence is thin, so treat it as a range, not a number.
Risk percentile (range)
59–83 / 100
Directional
Modeled SBA charge-off
15.7%
Observed SBA charge-off
no resolved cohort
Top drivers: System size (log units) (raises) · Net unit growth (raises) · Item 20 exit rate (raises) · Investment ceiling (log) (raises). Thin loan history — treat this as a range, not a number. A linear scorecard built from this brand's own disclosure figures plus the federal loan record behind its franchisees; full spec and cross-validated accuracy on the methodology page. A score is context, not a verdict.
Distress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP franchises closed last year?
In ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2023), 7 of 65 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 10.8% — compared with 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP franchise cost?
Per ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP's 2024 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $30K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $194K–$460K (Item 7).
What royalty does ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP charge?
ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP charges an ongoing royalty of 6.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2024 FDD.
Does ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — ERBERT AND GERBERT'S SANDWICH SHOP makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2024 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.