Wet Willie's franchise
2023 filing · May 22, 2023Fewer locationsShares sales figures
Wet Willie's at a glance
A frozen daiquiri bar serving frozen cocktails and casual food. At the end of 2022 there were 11 Wet Willie's locations in the US, 2 franchised and 9 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- Wet Willie's Franchise Corp
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $717K–$1.61M
- From a limited build-out to a full-size bar
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 1.5% to the brand fund
- Brand fund
- 1.5%
- 1.5% of gross sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2022
- 11
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 2
- Company-owned
- 9
- Change in 3 years
- −1
- Franchised locations, 2020–2022
- States
- 6
- Most in Georgia, South Carolina and New Jersey
From Wet Willie's Franchise Corp’s 2023 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 56; 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
Wet Willie's among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Wet Willie's | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,162,250 | Costs more than 86% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $35,000 | Lower than 61% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 11 | Fewer than 60% of franchises |
How much a Wet Willie's franchise costs
Opening from a limited build-out to a full-size bar costs an estimated $716,500 to $1,608,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, page 16
Wet Willie's franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales, paid weekly, plus 1.5% to the brand fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1.5% of gross sales. |
| Local Ad Expenditures | 2% of Gross Sales each calendar year |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, page 11
Other fees as filed, from page 11. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Wet Willie's publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $2,137,183
- Median sales
- $1,712,956
Yearly figures for 2022, covering affiliate-owned bars open all of 2022. The average is about 1.8 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: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, pages 43–44
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2022 / 2020–2022. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Wet Willie's | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | 0% / −33% | 0% / +3% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 33% | 2.5% / 13% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical restaurant brand is the median of the 301 brands in restaurant franchises with three years of counts.
How Wet Willie's compares
Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, Wet Willie's is the 609th cheapest to open and the 424th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Wet Willie's | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $717K | $408K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.61M | $866K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1.5% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 11 | 14 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 474 of 813 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 813 brands in restaurant franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3 (0) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 (−1) | 9 | 0 | −1 |
| 2022 | 2 (0) | 9 | 0 | 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: franchise failure rates.
Source: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, page 46
Where Wet Willie's locations are
At the end of 2022, Wet Willie's had locations in 6 states. The most are in Georgia, South Carolina and New Jersey.
- Georgia3
- South Carolina3
- New Jersey2
- Alabama1
- Florida1
- Tennessee1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Alabama | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Florida | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Source: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, page 47
Who owns Wet Willie's?
Wet Willie's franchises are sold by Wet Willie's Franchise Corp.
From Wet Willie's Franchise Corp’s 2023 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: Wet Willie's Franchise Corp, 2023 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Wet Willie's filings
The figures on this page come from Wet Willie's Franchise Corp’s 2023 filing, issued May 22, 2023, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 filing | May 22, 2023 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2020–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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