Franchise Facts Report → brands → Crafty Crab
Crafty Crab franchise — is it worth it?
Risk level — in the report
Crafty Crab Franchising LLC is a full-service restaurant concept requiring an initial investment between $952,800 and $1,831,399.
Unlock what the free page above only hints at:
- Risk & red-flag breakdown — what the missing earnings, fees and churn imply.
- How it compares — every number ranked against full-service restaurant peers (median & quartile).
- Litigation detail — each case, franchisee vs. corporate, with summaries.
- Outlet churn & the questions to ask — closures, terminations, transfers, and what to put to the franchisor.
Figures above are as disclosed in Crafty Crab's most recent FDD (registered 2023). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-28954. The risk level, the Item 19 figures, how it compares to peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
Crafty Crab franchise profit — what the FDD discloses
Plainly: Crafty Crab does not disclose franchise profit or revenue. Its most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-backed earnings figure for Crafty Crab — any number quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure. The absence is itself worth weighing (many full-service restaurant franchisors do disclose), and the full report reads the risk signals Crafty Crab's FDD does contain — fees, litigation, and outlet churn — against peers. For brands that put earnings on paper, see Full-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings.
Crafty Crab lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Crafty Crab's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2023) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
Crafty Crab closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Crafty Crab will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Crafty Crab's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a full-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Crafty Crab reports no franchised units open yet — there is no operating track record to churn. The actual closure and termination counts, and how Crafty Crab's churn ranks against full-service restaurant peers, are in the full report.
The risk & red-flag breakdown, every figure ranked against full-service restaurant peers, litigation and churn detail — emailed as a PDF.
Who owns Crafty Crab?
Crafty Crab's franchise is offered by Crafty Crab Franchising LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2023), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Full-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Crafty Crab is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Crafty Crab franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Crafty Crab — who is the franchisor?
Crafty Crab's most recently filed FDD (2023) names Crafty Crab Franchising LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Crafty Crab franchise cost?
Crafty Crab's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $952,800 – $1,831,399 and a 1.5% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against full-service restaurant peers.
How much profit does a Crafty Crab franchise make?
Crafty Crab makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-disclosed revenue or profit figure for Crafty Crab at all — and profit would never be disclosed even where earnings are, because it depends on your rent, labour and how you operate. Any profit figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
Does Crafty Crab disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
No — Crafty Crab's most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Its absence is worth weighing; the report focuses on the verifiable risk signals instead.
Are there lawsuits against Crafty Crab?
No — Crafty Crab's most recently filed FDD (2023) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Crafty Crab a good franchise to buy?
That comes down to how Crafty Crab's investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against full-service restaurant peers — which is exactly what the full report answers. For $99 you get the risk level and what's driving it, the actual Item 19 earnings (absent from this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
Everything the sections above point to, in one place: Crafty Crab's risk level and what's driving it, what the missing Item 19 earnings imply, every figure ranked against full-service restaurant peers, and the litigation & churn detail — with the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign.
Get a free email when something changes on Crafty Crab or full-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same registries every report is built on.