Grain & Berry franchise
2024 filing · June 25, 2024GrowingShares sales figures
Grain & Berry at a glance
A cafe serving acai bowls, smoothies, toast and other healthy food. At the end of 2023 there were 16 Grain & Berry locations in the US, 14 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2017
- 7 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Trinity, Florida
- Typical size
- 1,500–2,800 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $258K–$674K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $49,500
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of net sales, paid weekly, plus 1% to the system development fund
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of net sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 16
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 14
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 3 years
- +6
- Franchised locations, 2021–2023
- States
- 3
- Most in Florida, Indiana and Tennessee
Support and records
From Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC’s 2024 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 84; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Grain & Berry among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Grain & Berry | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $465,750 | Costs more than 61% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $49,500 | Higher than 64% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 16 | Fewer than 54% of franchises |
How much a Grain & Berry franchise costs
Opening one Grain & Berry costs an estimated $258,000 to $673,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($150,000 to $375,000) and restaurant kitchen equipment purchase deposit and initial payment ($0 to $80,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $49,500 | ||
| Real Estate Lease Payments – deposit, 1 month | $6,000 | $13,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $150,000 | $375,000 | |
| Construction Management Fee | $1,500 | ||
| Wages, Travel and Living Expenses for You and Your Manager During Training | $1,000 | $5,000 | |
| Restaurant Kitchen Equipment Purchase Deposit and Initial Payment | $0 | $80,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Non-Kitchen Equipment | $15,000 | $25,000 | |
| Computer System | $2,000 | $3,000 | |
| Signs | $6,000 | $15,000 | |
| Initial Inventory and Supplies | $3,000 | $30,000 | |
| Employee Salaries – 3 months | $9,000 | $25,000 | |
| Local Advertising Expenditures Fee and costs | $4,000 | $10,000 | |
| Insurance – 3 months | $1,000 | $1,500 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $10,000 | $40,000 | |
| Total | $258,000 | $673,500 | |
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, page 17
Grain & Berry franchise fee
The franchise fee is $49,500. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of net sales, paid weekly, plus 1% to the system development fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of net sales. |
| Computer System (POS) Purchase | Varies: $2,000 to $3,000 initial equipment and monthly fees of $309. |
| Local Advertising Expenditures Fee and costs | $4,000 to $10,000 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, pages 13 and 31
Other fees as filed, from pages 13–17. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Grain & Berry publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $1,158,554
- Median sales
- $1,102,704
Yearly figures for 2023, covering franchised and company-owned restaurants open all of 2023 (13 locations). The average is about 2.5 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, pages 57–58
SBA loans to Grain & Berry franchisees
Lenders approved 25 SBA 7(a) loans for Grain & Berry franchisees from 2020 to 2026, $10.3M in all. None has been paid off or charged off yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2023 / 2021–2023. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Grain & Berry | Typical smoothie brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +40% / +75% | +13% / +74% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 13% | 3.4% / 14% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 13% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical smoothie brand is the median of the 24 brands in smoothie franchises with three years of counts.
How Grain & Berry compares
Of the 60 smoothie franchises on this site, Grain & Berry is the 37th cheapest to open and the 33rd largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Grain & Berry | Typical smoothie brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $258K | $227K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $674K | $519K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 16 | 20 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 45 of 60 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 60 brands in smoothie franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 (+1) | 3 | +3 | −2 |
| 2022 | 10 (+1) | 3 | +1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 14 (+4) | 2 | +4 | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: smoothie and juice franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, page 60
Where Grain & Berry locations are
At the end of 2023, Grain & Berry had locations in 3 states. The most are in Florida, Indiana and Tennessee.
- Florida14
- Indiana1
- Tennessee1
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, page 61
Who owns Grain & Berry?
Grain & Berry franchises are sold by Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC.
From Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC’s 2024 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Grain & Berry filings
The figures on this page come from Grain & Berry Cafe, LLC’s 2024 filing, issued June 25, 2024, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | June 25, 2024 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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