Monkey Joe's franchise
2022 filing · April 13, 2022Fewer locations
Monkey Joe's at a glance
An indoor play center with inflatable attractions, open play and birthday parties for children. At the end of 2021 there were 14 Monkey Joe's locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Franchisor
- Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2005
- 17 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Atlanta, Georgia
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $681K–$1.24M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Franchisees also sign a market development agreement at $40,000 per facility, credited against each fee
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 2% to the advertising fund
- Brand fund
- 2%
- 2% of gross sales, paid with the royalty
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2021
- 14
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 14
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- −25
- Franchised locations, 2019–2021
Support and records
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Latest filing
- Apr 13, 2022
- 2022 filing
From Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC’s 2022 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Monkey Joe's among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Monkey Joe's | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $960,750 | Costs more than 82% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 14 | Fewer than 56% of franchises |
How much a Monkey Joe's franchise costs
Opening one Monkey Joe's costs an estimated $681,000 to $1,240,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2022 filing, page 20
Monkey Joe's franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000, franchisees also sign a market development agreement at $40,000 per facility, credited against each fee. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2022 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 2% to the advertising fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 2% of gross sales, paid with the royalty. |
| Additional On-Site Training due to Failure to Maintain Standards | $300 per day plus reimbursement of our trainers’ expenses |
| Local Advertising | A minimum of 2% of Gross Sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2022 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 14–15. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Monkey Joe's does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2022 filing, page 51
SBA loans to Monkey Joe's franchisees
Lenders approved 22 SBA-backed loans for Monkey Joe's franchisees from 2007 to 2020, $6.86M in all: 20 7(a) loans and 2 504 loans. Of the 18 that have ended, 13 were paid in full and 5 were charged off. The other 4 haven’t ended 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, 2021 / 2019–2021. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Monkey Joe's | Typical entertainment brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −18% / −64% | +2.9% / +33% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 18% / 72% | 3.2% / 11% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical entertainment brand is the median of the 41 brands in entertainment franchises with three years of counts.
How Monkey Joe's compares
Of the 168 entertainment franchises on this site, Monkey Joe's is the 124th cheapest to open and the 59th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Monkey Joe's | Typical entertainment brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $681K | $286K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.24M | $598K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $45K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 2% | 1.3% | 2% |
| US locations | 14 | 8 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 113 of 168 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 168 brands in entertainment franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 33 (−6) | 0 | +3 | −9 |
| 2020 | 17 (−16) | 0 | 0 | −16 |
| 2021 | 14 (−3) | 0 | 0 | −3 |
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: franchise failure rates.
Source: Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2022 filing, page 51
Who owns Monkey Joe's?
Monkey Joe's franchises are sold by Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC.
From Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC’s 2022 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 10–11. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | Two affiliates of the franchisor, The S&Q Shack and Raving Brands, were placed into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August 2010 over a landlord's lease claim; the cases ended with a settlement in November 2016 and a dismissal order in 2017. |
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: Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2022 filing, litigation on pages 10–11, bankruptcy on page 11
Monkey Joe's filings
The figures on this page come from Monkey Joe's Franchising, LLC’s 2022 filing, issued April 13, 2022, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 filing | April 13, 2022 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2019–2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
