In this exclusive Franchise Chatter FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

Section I – Estimated initial investment (franchise costs) for a Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2024 FDD

Section II – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, and marketing fee for a Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2024 FDD

Section III – Number of franchised and company-owned Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2021, 2022, and 2023, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2024 FDD

Section IV – News updates on the Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill franchise opportunity

Section V – Presentation and analysis of Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill’s financial performance representations (average revenues and/or profits), based on Item 19 of the company’s 2024 FDD, including information on the:

• 2023 average unit volume, cost of goods sold, repairs & maintenance, labor, supplies, utilities, and EBITDAR (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Rent) for the top 20, middle 41, and bottom 20 of 81 traditional Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants that operated in the United States for the entire year ending December 31, 2023

• 2023 average, median, highest, and lowest net sales for 81 traditional Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill restaurants that operated in the United States for the entire year ending December 31, 2023

Section VI – Key ratios, comparables, computations, and analyses for the Costa Vida c franchise opportunity (exclusive content for Platinum subscribers)

Section I – Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise Costs

• Franchise Fee:  $30,000
• Area Development Fee:  $15,000 per Costa Vida Restaurant to be developed under the Development Schedule
• Travel and Living Expenses While Training:  $15,000
• Tenant Improvements and Build-Out:  $300,000 to $614,000
• Building and Design Permit and Professional Fees:  $14,000 to $49,000
• Restaurant Equipment including POS and Computers:  $150,000 to $255,000
• Trade Dress, Woodwork, Furniture, Design Package, and Fixtures:  $55,000 to $99,000
• Opening Supplies and Inventory:  $10,000 to $15,000
• Smallwares:  $15,000 to $30,000
• Signage:  $8,000 to $50,000
• Grand Opening Promotion and Special Assistance:  $10,000 to $20,000
• Security and Utility Deposits:  $1,000 to $18,000
• Insurance:  $1,500 to $5,000
• Additional Funds – 3 Months:  $50,000 to $100,000
• Total Estimated Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise Costs:  $659,500 to $1,300,000 (not including real estate costs)

Section II – Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill’s Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, and Marketing Fee

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $30,000
• Royalty Fees:  6% of monthly Net Sales
• National Marketing Fund:  up to 2% of Net Sales
• Local Marketing Funds:  2% of Net Sales to be spent by franchisee on local advertising and promotion
• Marketing Administration Fee:  0.5% of Net Sales

Section III – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Outlets

Franchised

2021

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  58
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  57
• Net Change:  -1

2022

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  57
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  56
• Net Change:  -1

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  56
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  49
• Net Change:  -7

Company-Owned

2021

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  36
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  34
• Net Change:  -2

2022

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  34
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  37
• Net Change:  +3

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  37
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  42
• Net Change:  +5

Section IV – News Updates on the Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Average Revenues and/or Profits) for the Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise (Item 19, 2024 FDD)

• This Item sets forth certain historical revenue and expense information for 86 of the Costa Vida Restaurants in operation in the U.S. for the entire 12 months of 2023.

• The information related to these 86 U.S. franchise locations is based on monthly profit and loss statements provided to Costa Vida by its franchisees and has not been audited or otherwise verified by Costa Vida.

• Some outlets have sold this amount. Your individual results may differ. There is no assurance that you’ll sell as much.

Part 1 – Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Performance

• The following table represents average 2023 financial performance for 81 Restaurants that operated in the United States for the entire year ending December 31, 2023. While there were 91 Costa Vida restaurants operating as of December 31, 2023, 10 Restaurants have not been included because they (i) did not operate in the United States, (ii) did not operate or did not have complete information for the entire year ending December 31, 2023, or (iii) are non-traditional restaurants.

• The data in Part 1 and Part 2 is grouped into three rows for the top 20, middle 41, and bottom 20 locations based on average sales performance.

Averages for Top 20

• Average Unit Volume (AUV):  $3,137,003
• EBITDAR:  $655,756
• COGS (% of AUV):  30.0%
• Repairs & Maintenance (% of AUV):  1.0%
• Labor (% of AUV):  24.1%
• Supplies (% of AUV):  1.9%
• Utilities (% of AUV):  1.7%
• EBITDAR (% of AUV):  20.9%

Averages for Middle 41

• Average Unit Volume (AUV):  $1,993,387
• EBITDAR:  $345,415
• COGS (% of AUV):  29.9%
• Repairs & Maintenance (% of AUV):  1.3%
• Labor (% of AUV):  24.9%
• Supplies (% of AUV):  2.2%
• Utilities (% of AUV):  2.3%
• EBITDAR (% of AUV):  17.3%

Averages for Bottom 20

• Average Unit Volume (AUV):  $1,216,294
• EBITDAR:  $65,415
• COGS (% of AUV):  29.6%
• Repairs & Maintenance (% of AUV):  2.3%
• Labor (% of AUV):  29.8%
• Supplies (% of AUV):  2.9%
• Utilities (% of AUV):  3.8%
• EBITDAR (% of AUV):  5.4%

Part 2 – COGS and Salaries Combined (% of AUV)

• Top 20:  54.1%
• Middle 41:  54.9%
• Bottom 20:  59.4%

Part 3 – Net Sales

• Data in Part 3 shows the amount of the highest and lowest Net Sales figures for any Costa Vida location, as well as the average across all locations.

• Highest:  $4,403,133
• Average:  $2,083,886
• Lowest:  $801,535
• Median:  $1,940,806

• All percentages given are a percentage of AUV.

• Variations in the sales levels of restaurants may occur due to the traffic where the restaurants are located, the populations and income of the immediate market area, the retail maturity in the area, the amount of competition in the area, and numerous other factors.

• AUV is the average annual Restaurant sales for the applicable stores in each category. AUV includes sales of all food, beverages, promotional items, net of sales taxes, discounts, and coupons.

• COGS includes all food, paper, and distribution costs less supplier rebates.

• Labor includes wages paid to all hourly and management employees working in the Restaurant. Your labor costs could vary depending on the prevailing wage rates in the area of the country in which a Restaurant is located and the specific labor laws.

• Repair & Maintenance costs include the cost of repair and maintenance of your facility and equipment.

• Supplies costs include costs for operational supplies (including small wares and janitorial supplies) and uniforms.

• Utilities include costs for telephone, water, gas, and electricity for the Restaurant.

• Restaurant EBITDAR equals Restaurant-level earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, and rent.

• No amounts have been included for expenses a franchisee will likely incur for owners’ salaries, interest and debt service, legal fees, and income taxes. You will likely have such expenses, and to the extent that a franchisee expects to incur such expenses, the franchisee’s overall expenses will be higher than those reflected in the table.

Section VI – Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill Franchise Ratios, Comparables, Computations, and Analyses (Exclusive Content for Platinum Subscribers) ⬇️