A reasonable analytical range for a manager-run, full-year Bubbakoo’s Burritos franchised restaurant is approximately $39,000 to $166,000 in annual pre-tax owner earnings, with a base scenario near $111,000. This is not an official profit disclosure. It is a 2026 FDD-anchored estimate built from 2025 Gross Sales, disclosed recurring fees, affiliate operating-cost indicators, and explicit reserves for costs that Item 19 does not report.
The earnings figures in this article are independent analytical scenarios, not an Item 19 financial performance representation by Bubbakoo’s Franchise Systems, LLC. The model combines identified 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document facts with separately identified scenario assumptions. Actual results can differ materially because of location, restaurant size, sales volume, food and paper costs, labor, occupancy, delivery mix, financing, owner involvement, and execution.
- Legal franchisor
- Bubbakoo’s Franchise Systems, LLC
- Current disclosure
- 2026 U.S. FDD, issued April 17, 2026
- Item 19 population
- 116 franchised locations open throughout calendar 2025; nine affiliate locations for operating KPIs
- Evidence status
- Gross Sales and selected costs disclosed; no franchised-unit profit, EBITDA, Net Income, cash flow, or Owner Compensation disclosed
- External benchmark
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024 food-service-manager wage
- Date checked
- July 14, 2026
What does Bubbakoo’s Item 19 actually measure?
Officially, Item 19 measures Gross Sales for 116 franchised locations and selected cost percentages for nine affiliate-owned locations during calendar 2025. It does not report annual owner earnings for franchisees. Gross Sales is revenue before operating expenses, debt service, owner draws, and personal income taxes, so the official sales figures cannot be presented as owner income.
The sales anchor is current and same-brand, but the earnings result depends materially on a nine-location affiliate cost sample and an editorial reserve for operating expenses omitted from Item 19.
The central revenue anchor for 116 franchised locations open throughout 2025.
The mean was higher than the median, indicating that stronger locations pulled the average upward.
Item 19 excluded 18 locations opened during 2025 and one seasonal location.
Food, labor, and occupancy percentages came from affiliate restaurants in New Jersey and Florida.
6% Royalty Fee, 2% current Fund Contribution, and 1% Local Advertising Requirement.
May 2024 median wage for food service managers in food services and drinking places.
| Official 2025 Item 19 measure | Franchised locations | Affiliate locations | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Gross Sales | $938,646 | $1,014,734 | Mean annual revenue, not profit. |
| Median Gross Sales | $846,928 | $916,088 | Middle annual revenue observation. |
| Gross Sales range | $479,297–$1,904,103 | $629,817–$1,474,514 | Observed low and high, not probability bands. |
| Locations in population | 116 | 9 | Restaurants open throughout the entire 2025 Measurement Period. |
The 2026 FDD states that Gross Sales figures were supplied by the locations or obtained through point-of-sale software and were not audited. The franchised population covers restaurants open for the full Measurement Period, while the affiliate KPI population excludes one nontraditional, event-only location. Source: 2026 Bubbakoo’s Franchise Systems, LLC FDD, Item 19, pp. 49–52. The official Bubbakoo’s franchise investment page publishes rounded versions of the same sales and corporate cost indicators.
The official franchised median of $846,928 is the strongest central revenue observation. It becomes an earnings estimate only after food, labor, occupancy, franchise fees, technology, supplies, utilities, insurance, repairs, merchant and delivery costs, and other operating expenses are accounted for.
How does revenue become estimated owner earnings?
The model starts with the official $846,928 median franchised Gross Sales figure and then subtracts the cost categories that Item 19 and Item 6 identify. The resulting owner-earnings figures are estimated for one standard-format, manager-run U.S. restaurant operating for a full year; they are not reported by the franchisor.
The scenario definition is cash available to the owner after normal unit-level operating expenses and disclosed recurring franchise fees, but before personal income taxes, financing principal, and interest. Depreciation is excluded as a noncash accounting charge. Capital expenditures, remodel reserves, and debt service are not modeled because the FDD does not provide one financing structure or one annual capital-spending pattern for all owners.
Which assumptions are official, and which are analytical?
Official inputs include the 2025 franchised median Gross Sales, affiliate average food, labor and occupancy percentages, and current recurring fees. The revenue spread and “other operating expense” reserve are editorial scenario assumptions for the standard restaurant offering because Item 19 does not disclose the remaining expense categories or a franchised operating margin.
- Revenue: Conservative, Base, and Upside use 80%, 100%, and 120% of the official $846,928 franchised median. This is an analytical spread, not an Item 19 distribution or forecast.
- Core operating ratios: Food 24.5%, labor 31.5%, and occupancy 8.4% use the 2025 averages for nine affiliate locations. The official franchise site describes the labor figure as including a manager, so the manager-run model retains that labor burden. The FDD says food excludes beverages and paper products, while payroll excludes health-benefit contributions.
- Sales-linked franchise obligations: 6% Royalty Fee, 2% current Fund Contribution, and 1% Local Advertising Requirement come from Item 6.
- Fixed recurring technology: Technology Fee and Loyalty Fee use $5,400, $4,200, and $3,000 annually across the scenarios, based on the disclosed $100–$300 monthly Technology Fee estimate and current $150 monthly Loyalty Fee.
- Other operating expense reserve: 20%, 13%, and 10% of Gross Sales cover omitted categories such as beverages, paper products, health benefits, utilities, insurance, repairs, cleaning, merchant and delivery fees, supplies, bookkeeping, and software. These percentages are deliberately visible scenario assumptions, not FDD facts.
Annual pre-tax operating cash estimate per full-year standard-format restaurant, before debt service and personal taxes.
Interpretation: The modeled range widens because revenue and the reserve for undisclosed operating costs both change. The midpoint is a base case, not a prediction of the most likely result.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 19, pp. 49–52; Item 6, pp. 9–13. Scenario calculations are independent and rounded to the nearest dollar after using full-precision inputs.
| Scenario | Revenue anchor | Estimated margin | Manager-run owner earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $677,542 | 5.8% | $39,318 |
| Base | $846,928 | 13.1% | $110,982 |
| Upside | $1,016,314 | 16.3% | $165,708 |
What does the base-case revenue bridge look like?
In the base scenario, approximately 86.9% of Gross Sales is assigned to operating costs and recurring obligations, leaving 13.1%, or $110,982, as estimated pre-tax owner earnings. This is a fully reconciled analytical bridge for the $846,928 revenue anchor, not an Item 19 profit statement.
The stacked bar reconciles 100% of the $846,928 median Gross Sales anchor.
Interpretation: Labor is the largest modeled cost. Small changes in payroll, scheduling efficiency, or sales productivity can therefore move annual owner earnings substantially.
Base-case formula: $846,928 less food $207,497; labor $266,782; occupancy $71,142; Royalty Fee $50,816; Fund Contribution $16,939; Local Advertising Requirement $8,469; Technology Fee plus Loyalty Fee $4,200; and other operating reserve $110,101.
How does owner involvement change the result?
An active owner who genuinely replaces a paid general manager may create an estimated owner-operator benefit of approximately $102,000 to $229,000, with a base scenario near $174,000. This is an estimated 2025-format labor substitution, not pure business profit: it combines manager-run residual earnings with the market value of work performed by the owner.
Item 15 says Bubbakoo’s Franchise Systems, LLC recommends that the owner personally participate in day-to-day restaurant management, but permits an approved Designated Manager. The Designated Manager must meet experience criteria and complete training. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 15, p. 42. The official Bubbakoo’s operating-model page describes a typical restaurant as having 15–20 team members led by one full-time General Manager and two shift leaders.
For the labor-value adjustment, the model uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics food service manager profile, which reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $63,040 in food services and drinking places. The benchmark is wage value only; it does not add employer payroll taxes, benefits, or a local-market premium.
| Scenario | Manager-run owner earnings | Owner labor value | Estimated owner-operator benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $39,318 | +$63,040 | $102,358 |
| Base | $110,982 | +$63,040 | $174,022 |
| Upside | $165,708 | +$63,040 | $228,748 |
The $63,040 addition should not be described as passive profit or a guaranteed cash saving. It represents labor value only when the owner performs the Designated Manager function effectively and the restaurant can reduce equivalent paid management cost without weakening operations.
Which fees materially affect annual owner earnings?
The major disclosed recurring burden is 9% of Gross Sales before fixed technology and loyalty charges. This official 2026 FDD obligation applies to the traditional franchise model and consists of the Royalty Fee, current Fund Contribution, and Local Advertising Requirement.
| Recurring obligation | Official amount | Base-case annual amount | Model treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty Fee | 6% of Gross Sales | $50,816 | Subtracted from revenue. |
| Fund Contribution | Up to 2%; currently 2% | $16,939 | Subtracted at the current stated rate. |
| Local Advertising Requirement | At least 1% of Gross Sales | $8,469 | Subtracted as local marketing spend. |
| Technology Fee | Estimated $100–$300 monthly | $2,400 | Base case uses the midpoint. |
| Loyalty Fee | Currently $150 monthly | $1,800 | Subtracted as a fixed annual charge. |
| Software Fees | Then-current supplier charge | Not separately disclosed | Included within the scenario’s other-operating reserve. |
Source: 2026 Bubbakoo’s Franchise Systems, LLC FDD, Item 6, pp. 9–13. The initial franchise fee and startup investment are not recurring annual expenses and are not subtracted from one year of Gross Sales. The FDD’s Item 7 Additional Funds estimate also excludes owner salary or draw and debt service, reinforcing why those items must be analyzed separately.
What could move actual earnings outside the modeled range?
The largest unresolved uncertainty is the group of operating costs that the 2026 Item 19 does not disclose for franchised locations. The $39,000–$166,000 range is therefore a decision framework for a full-year standard-format restaurant, not a prediction or a substitute for location-level profit-and-loss statements.
- Affiliate proxy
- The 24.5% food, 31.5% labor, and 8.4% occupancy averages come from nine affiliate locations, not the 116 franchised locations. Affiliate restaurants were in New Jersey or Florida and ranged from 1,300 to 3,500 square feet.
- Incomplete food cost
- Item 19 states that Annual Food Cost excludes beverages and paper products, both of which still affect restaurant cash flow.
- Incomplete payroll cost
- Annual Payroll Expenses include payroll taxes, vacation, and paid bonuses but exclude health-benefit contributions.
- Unreported expenses
- Utilities, insurance, repairs, cleaning, merchant fees, delivery commissions, supplies, bookkeeping, software, and other operating costs are not itemized in Item 19.
- Sales dispersion
- The official franchised low was $479,297 and the high was $1,904,103. Those extremes demonstrate variation but do not indicate the probability of any individual outcome.
- Excluded cohorts
- Part II excludes 18 restaurants that opened during 2025 and one seasonal restaurant, so the results do not describe first-year ramp-up or seasonal performance.
- Format separation
- Item 19 does not report conversion restaurants as a separate performance cohort. The estimate is designed for the standard restaurant offering and should not be assumed to predict a specific conversion location.
- Financing and taxes
- Loan principal, interest, lender fees, entity-level tax treatment, and personal income taxes can materially reduce owner cash available but are not included in the operating estimate.
What should a buyer verify before relying on the range?
A buyer should test the model against actual franchised-location records and written Item 19 substantiation. The checks below apply to the current traditional U.S. restaurant format and should be completed before treating any scenario as decision-grade.
- Request the written substantiation supporting the 2026 FDD Item 19 Gross Sales and affiliate KPI tables.
- Ask multiple current franchisees for trailing-12-month profit-and-loss statements, separating food, beverages, paper, hourly labor, management labor, payroll burden, rent, common-area maintenance, utilities, insurance, delivery commissions, repairs, software, and merchant fees.
- Confirm whether the location is owner-operated or Designated Manager-run, the owner’s weekly hours, and the full local cost of replacing that labor.
- Compare the proposed site’s rent, size, delivery mix, wage market, and expected sales to the Item 19 populations rather than relying on system averages alone.
- Model loan principal and interest separately using the buyer’s actual financed amount, rate, fees, and term; do not deduct startup investment from annual revenue.
- Separate full-year stabilized operations from opening-year ramp-up, pre-opening payroll, and initial marketing.
- Ask whether upcoming technology, menu, supplier, remodel, or local advertising changes could alter recurring expenses.
The Federal Trade Commission’s Franchise Rule Compliance Guide provides official context for financial performance representations. Item 19 should remain the controlling same-brand disclosure, while franchisee interviews and actual records should be used to test costs that the table omits.
What is the strongest defensible annual earnings range?
The strongest defensible range from the available evidence is approximately $39,000 to $166,000 in manager-run, pre-tax owner earnings per full-year standard-format restaurant, with a base scenario near $111,000. It is a Mode C independent estimate anchored to the 2026 FDD—not an official Bubbakoo’s profit claim. An active owner who replaces a paid general manager may have an estimated owner-operator benefit of roughly $102,000 to $229,000, but part of that amount compensates the owner for labor rather than capital.
The most important earnings driver is the interaction between Gross Sales and labor productivity. The largest unresolved uncertainty is the total cost of operating categories omitted from Item 19, especially beverages and paper, health benefits, utilities, insurance, repairs, delivery and payment fees, and software. A prospective buyer should verify the Item 19 substantiation, reconcile several franchisee profit-and-loss statements to the 2026 FDD definitions, and test the exact site, manager structure, and debt terms before relying on the range.
FDD references are to the 2026 Bubbakoo’s Franchise Systems, LLC U.S. Franchise Disclosure Document, issued April 17, 2026. No public franchisor-controlled copy of the matching FDD was verified, so Item and page references are presented without an FDD hyperlink.