Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea franchise
2026 filing · April 27, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea at a glance
A coffee and tea café serving coffee, tea and baked goods. At the end of 2025 there were 38 Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea locations in the US, 34 franchised and 4 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Sweetwaters Group LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Typical size
- 1,200–1,600 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $441K–$741K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $37,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 3% to the brand development fund
- Brand fund
- 3%
- 3% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- Franchise Agreement: $2,500 Development Agreement: Not applicable
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 38
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 34
- Company-owned
- 4
- Change in 3 years
- +1
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 12
- Most in Michigan, Texas and Ohio
Support and records
From Sweetwaters Group LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 75; 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
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $590,727 | Costs more than 70% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $37,000 | Lower than 60% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 38 | More than 60% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $590,683 | Lower than 64% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 1.0× | Lower than 77% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea franchise costs
Opening one Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea costs an estimated $440,926 to $740,528. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($185,213 to $374,127) and food service equipment, furniture & smallwares ($95,131 to $117,576). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $37,000 | ||
| Opening Advertising Fee | $10,000 | ||
| Initial Training Fee | $5,000 | ||
| Initial Training Expenses | $0 | $3,900 | |
| Pre-Construction | $6,750 | $7,150 | |
| Permits | $1,200 | $3,719 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $185,213 | $374,127 | |
| Exterior Signage | $6,259 | $10,827 | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $300 | |
| Food Service Equipment, Furniture & Smallwares | $95,131 | $117,576 | |
| Digital Menuboard, Music & Project Management | $10,612 | ||
| Other Equipment & Electronics (Espresso, Interior Signage & Decor) | $33,651 | $46,017 | |
| POS System, including license fee, and other hardware/software | $2,246 | $4,162 | |
| Organizational Costs | $500 | $1,500 | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $16,014 | $21,310 | |
| Construction Management | $0 | $21,950 | |
| Insurance – Liability and Workman’s Comp (3 months) | $1,350 | $1,382 | |
| Real Estate Costs – 3 Month’s Rent Plus Security Deposit | $0 | $22,804 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 Months | $30,000 | $40,000 | |
| Total | $440,926 | $740,528 | |
Source: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, page 18
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea franchise fee
The franchise fee is $37,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 3% to the brand development fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 3% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
| Technology Fee | Our then-current fee, currently, $80 per week |
| Renewal Fees | Franchise Agreement: $2,500 Development Agreement: Not applicable |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from page 15. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $590,683
- Median sales
- $575,176
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchised businesses open all of 2025 (29 locations). The average is about 1 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: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, pages 59–61
SBA loans to Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea franchisees
Lenders approved 15 SBA 7(a) loans for Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea franchisees from 2018 to 2025, $5.65M in all. Of the 9 that have ended, 8 were paid in full and 1 was charged off. The other 6 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, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea | Typical coffee brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | −2.9% / +3% | +13% / +73% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 2.9% / 9.1% | 2.2% / 13% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical coffee brand is the median of the 29 brands in coffee franchises with three years of counts.
How Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea compares
Of the 117 coffee franchises on this site, Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea is the 76th cheapest to open and the 31st largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea | Typical coffee brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $441K | $350K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $741K | $741K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $37K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 3% | 1.5% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $591K | $913K | $794K |
| US locations | 38 | 8 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 69 of 117 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 117 brands in coffee franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 34 (+1) | 4 | +2 | −1 |
| 2024 | 35 (+1) | 4 | +2 | −1 |
| 2025 | 34 (−1) | 4 | 0 | −1 |
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: coffee franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, page 64
Where Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea locations are
At the end of 2025, Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea had locations in 12 states. The most are in Michigan, Texas and Ohio.
- Michigan13
- Texas8
- Ohio5
- Illinois2
- North Dakota2
- South Carolina2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 9 | 4 | 13 |
| Texas | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Ohio | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Illinois | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Arizona | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Missouri | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| New Jersey | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, page 65
Who owns Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea?
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea franchises are sold by Sweetwaters Group LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From Sweetwaters Group LLC’s 2026 filing, page 8.
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: Sweetwaters Group LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea filings
The figures on this page come from Sweetwaters Group LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 27, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 27, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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